Update your autumn wardrobe with a scarf

First came the It bag, the accessory every woman had to have. Its natural successor was the It shoe. So what next? The It scarf, a simple and invariably cost-effective addition to the winter wardrobe.

It started at Louis Vuitton: last year their Stephen Sprouse leopard-print scarf (£455) was seen adorning the necks of the rich and famous, including Kate Moss, Keira Knightley, Lily Allen and Sarah Jessica Parker. The momentum has been gathering ever since.

Retail website My Wardrobe.com, for example, has had to place several repeat orders on designer scarves (prices from £70). Sarah Curran, its founder and chief executive, says, “Scarves have jumped by 323 per cent against last year. We saw a 100 per cent sell-out of the Mulberry leopard-print wrap scarf within hours. Our customers are shopping for wow-factor pieces.”

Brix Smith-Start, founder of Start-London boutiques, which sell scarves by labels such as Tim Ryan, Lousada Heyhoe, and Lily and Lionel (prices from £40), says: “Scarves are accessible to everyone. Most people can afford to buy a designer scarf even if they can’t buy an outfit. People have been focusing on handbags and shoes to update their looks but a scarf does the same thing – even better. It can transform your look instantly.”

At London store Liberty, a scarf department was introduced in September, selling pieces from cult designers such as Erdem, Christopher Kane and Peter Pilotto, alongside exclusive scarves by Laura Berens Baker, Greek designer Athena Procopiou and architect-turned-scarf creator Richard Weston (prices range from £40 to £500).

“Our scarf stock has nearly quadrupled in the past year and half,” says Alexandra Stylianidis, head buyer for women’s wear and accessories at Liberty. “We have reordered Richard Weston scarves three times. Our Manolo Blahnik scarves (prices from £105) sold out in two days – we now have a waiting list.”

Hermès, purveyor of the classic luxury scarf (prices from £250), will this month launch its first dedicated silk scarf counter in the hip Parisian concept store Colette, following the “J’aime mon carré” (“I love my scarf”) summer online fanzine project featuring pictures taken in Paris, London, New York and Tokyo of city kids sporting Hermès scarves.

At Harrods, which this season introduced a slew of new scarf labels (prices from £60) – including Jane Carr, boho luxe label Dianora Salviati and Forget Me Not Scarves, alongside versions by Jonathan Saunders and Matthew Williamson – sales have been buoyant.

Caroline Fielder, an accessories buyer for the west London department store, says: “Scarves are an easy way of reinventing your style and character. There are so many options. You can go from oversized, for drama and warmth, to printed woven scarves or softer silks and lace for a more delicate and feminine look. They’re just the right statement piece,a great alternative to bold jewellery.”

The trend is a marked shift from last year, when scarves were an underperforming category. As Curran of My Wardobe.com says, “People just weren’t interested. They were focused on shoes and bags. Now they have seen what a great transitional item a scarf is. You can buy a statement piece and wear it from summer right through to winter.”

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Details

www.athenaprocopiou.com

www.brownsfashion.com

www.colette.fr

www.dianorasalviati.com

www.harrods.com

www.jane-carr.com

www.liberty.co.uk

www.lilyandlionel.com

www.lousadaheyhoe.com

www.my-wardrobe.com

www.start-london.com

www.hermes.com

www.louisvuitton.com