Scarfs Take the Wrap as Accessory to Fashion

The scarf hasn’t had so much attention since Grace Kelly wrapped one around her head and wore it with sunglasses in the 1950s. In those days, movie stars and teeny-boppers were tying them everywhere--on handbags, over collars and around ponytails.

Now the scarf is back, in its most decorative form yet. The top designers--Chanel, Calvin Klein, Yves Saint Laurent and Geoffrey Beene, among others--have either launched a recent scarf collection or plan to next season. The venerable European fashion houses of Hermes and Gucci for years have been wrapping up both necklines and prestige with their top-of-the-line silk-screened creations.

And now Tiffany, a company known for its silver and jewelry and a recent arrival in the fine scarf business, has launched an all-out effort to put a dent in the market.

Today’s scarf is only a distant cousin to yesterday’s square ponytail wrap. With price tags of $150 and up, the intricately printed designs of Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Tiffany are viewed as works of art.

They are being draped dramatically over shoulders, threaded through belt loops, thrown casually across divans and sometimes framed. Many are screen-printed and hand-rolled in the Lake Como region of Italy, an area known for its fine silk work, or Lyons, France.

Here in Orange County, Tiffany scarfs (from $35 for a handkerchief to $225 for 56-inch squares) dominate a large department in the front of the South Coast Plaza store. Employees are trained with manuals depicting the countless ways to wrap the accessories around one’s body.

Across the mall at Gucci, brilliant scarfs (from $160 for 34-inch squares to $235 for wool or cotton shawls), hang nearly full length from display racks. And in storefronts throughout Southern California, scarfs are now being used like banners as part of the window decor.

In New York, Hermes recently held a retrospective of its finest scarfs created over the past half century. The Paris-based company, whose scarfs are available at Neiman Marcus at Newport Center Fashion Island, has introduced more than 900 designs since its first scarf sold in 1937.

According to Andy Pizzo, president of the Scarf Assn. in New York, scarf sales nationwide rose more than 100% last year.

Why the revival? Many believe women are spending less money on clothes these days and more on accessories. Scarfs may be a way to get more mileage out of fewer outfits.

“It’s the most visible way to change an outfit,” says Susan Meyer, a spokeswoman for Louis Vuitton, a company known for its pricey luggage and travel accessories (which also has a store at South Coast Plaza). “Clothes are expensive and maybe one doesn’t have as many as one used to have, so you buy one black or navy dress for spring and you’re able to change the look visibly with one accessory--a scarf.”

Last November, Louis Vuitton introduced a line of $165 silk scarfs designed by five contemporary artists. “They are just walking off the shelves,” says Meyer. “Women love the idea of wearing works of art.”

Anastasia Piper, a spokeswoman for Gucci, says scarfs have always been a strong seller at that company, but accessories in general have been getting hotter each year.

“I don’t know if expense is the first thought, but it’s easier if you can wear the same dress season after season by changing accessories,” she says. “Women have more fun playing around with the different elements; it’s more innovative.”

This month more than 35 new scarfs will be added to the approximately 110 different designs already available in Tiffany’s 13 stores. By year’s end the company plans to have 200 designs.

First introduced in 1987 to commemorate the company’s 150th anniversary, Tiffany scarfs are designed in New York by John Loring, design director and senior vice president of the company.

Gucci’s are designed by a studio of artists in Florence, which releases about five new designs each season. By far the firm’s most popular and biggest seller every season is “Flora,” a design created for Grace Kelly.

When a design is finished, it is printed on silk, with each color requiring a separate printing, or screening. The more intricate and colorful the pattern, the more screens it requires and the more expensive the scarf.

Bernice Colman, who teaches fiber art and fabric design at Cal State Northridge, believes fashion is finally following art.

“I think the fashion industry has seen the beauty and uniqueness of individual artists’ work and has capitalized on it,” she says. “I think it is quite wonderful. Now women can go to a department store and buy a $200 scarf that feels like a piece of art.

“I happen to be a person who adores scarfs,” she adds. “I must have 30 or 40 of them. And I know why I like them--it’s the allure of having luxurious fabric wrapped around your neck. It’s a desire to feel dramatic and look good.

“And,” she says “it keeps the back of my neck warm.”