I adore scarves with felines or animal print – I have several, in fact. One of my real favourites is this one: Tyger, Tyger designed by Alice Shirley for Hermès Autumn/Winter 2015 season.

There were loads of wonderful colourways to choose from, but I simply could not resist this one – 05. The rolled hem is teal and there are shades of dark blue and turquoise. The “tyger” is in brick, orange, brown and black with a startling turquoise eye! The night-time is evoked with silver stars in the sky and streaks of white on the plants and flowers, which are in other luscious colours. The scarf is a 90cm in heavy silk twill.

Here are the alternative colourways for this gorgeous scarf:

There was also a cashmere/silk 140 shawl. I am trying to find all of the colourways, but I am having a little difficulty with this. Please let me know if you have any suitable images.

A new version of the design has been announced for the Autumn/Winter 2025 season. It is a 70cm this time. These are the colourways that I have found. They are so gorgeous, but I don’t think that any of them would suit me with my grey hair! Now, when I was younger, I am sure that these colours would have looked lovely.

I have also seen that this design was used with watches!

This is the scarf story:

“Tyger! Tyger! burning bright In the forests of the night” Alice Shirley learned William Blake’s poem The Tyger, written in 1794, as a schoolgirl. Hailed as a forerunner of the Romantic movement, the celebrated English poet and painter was born in London in 1757, and died there in 1827. Once learned, never forgotten, the poem’s mesmerising power has imprinted the hearts of generations of children. Now a talented young illustrator, Alice Shirley offers an affectionate portrait of the great beast, reclining in gentle majesty on a bed of flowers, beneath a star-filled sky. Specialising in the animal kingdom, Shirley is a regular collaborator with London’s Natural History Museum. Here, in the museum library, she discovered the magnificent collection of botanical illustrations commissioned by the East India Company, including the flora of the Periyar tiger reserve in the Indian state of Kerala. Here, she depicts the tiger at home, in his natural habitat.

The famous quotation from the poem can be seen written across the fern leaf on the scarf. I seem to have a lot of the scarves designed by Alice Shirley, probably because they stand out for me when I see the new season scarves twice each year. She has her own website showcasing her designs, with videos, and you can read more about the Tyger, Tyger scarf and see some of the other colourways.

I wore this scarf with a mixture of navy and brown clothes and accessories the other week. The post about it can be read here. It was designed as an autumn/winter scarf and works best like this in my wardrobe.

As I have had the scarf for a couple of years, I have worn it a lot so the collage below shows some of the scarf knots I have used, together with some tops from Lands’ End that tone in nicely:

I hope readers have found this exploration of Tyger, Tyger  both interesting and useful. Once again, if you find any errors or have any additional information that I could add, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Love and best wishes,

Anne

Updated 05/07/25 to add information about the new 70cm colourways.