Some months ago, when I bought my gorgeous Massaccesi Victoria handbag in amethyst pebbled leather, I decided that I wanted to enhance it with a bag charm or a twilly. I had a look around and consulted the lovely members of The Purse Forum, then decided to buy a Hermès Baobab Cat gavroche and a Coup de Fouet au Bloc twilly. I don’t generally purchase twillies are they are very expensive for their size (86x5cm), but this one was a perfect choice.

I have already written a Scarf of the Moment post for Baobab Cat, so this piece is about Coup de Fouet au Bloc.

Coup de Fouet au Bloc twilly by Florence Manlik for Hermès

Description

Coup de Fouet au Bloc is a redesign of the original Coup de Fouet, meaning “crack of the whip” by Florence Manlik issued in Autumn/Winter 2012. I believe that the original design was offered in the 90cm silk twill and 140cm silk plume sizes. It shows very stylised outlines of four horse heads with long curling whips. The colours are filled into the outlines and are strong and bold. I really love this design and have often thought about acquiring one of these scarves. The design has been so popular that it has been used on a range of other Hermès items such as bags, bangles, and watches.

More recently, a new version was offered as a 140cm silk plume, a maxi-twilly cut and a twilly – Coup de Fouet au Bloc. “The bloc version is an overprinted rendering with an Indian wood block printed motif…” (thanks to marietouchet on tPF for her explanation). This motif is a kind of floral paisley pattern and is used in a variety of ways on the different formats.

My twilly is colourway #08, in mauve, violet, jaune soufre. In addition the design has blues and greens. When the twilly is laid out, the Coup de Fouet takes up half of the space, with the “au bloc” paisley pattern on the other half. The reverse is the same, although the colours are used in different ways.

Colourways

These are the colourways for the Spring/Summer 2018 twilly:

Here we have the colourways for the silk twill maxi-twilly cut (20x160cm):

These are the colourways for the 140cm silk twill plume:

Here we have some of the 2012 silk twill 90cm colourways for the original design: Coup de Fouet:

And the design has been so popular that it has been used on a number of other items, such as bangles, bags and so on:

Design story

Unfortunately, I have only been able to find a partial version. If anyone has the full piece, I would be very grateful to receive it!

The subtlety of line, a light touch, slowly winding curves, complicated, elongated scrolls, lively arabesques… The plaited leather of the horsewhips intertwines with the delicate lines of embroidered thread describing four horses’ heads, with cocked ears and glossy manes. Symbols emerge from the interlocking forms, worlds combine – the world of men, and the world of horses – and so begins the long scroll of expertise an…

Details

Here are some closeups of my scarf in a slideshow format:

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How I wear the scarf

Occasionally, I might wear the twilly with purple or mauve clothing, like this cashmere t-shirt by Pure Collection or my new lilac cashmere v-neck jumper by Marks and Spencer:

Outfit of the day 12/10/18 with Hermès’ Coup de Fouet au Bloc twilly

Most of the time I will use this pretty twilly to decorate my matching amethyst pebbled leather Victoria handbag by Marco Massaccesi:

Victoria in amethyst pebbled leather by Massaccesi

Scarf ties

I really cannot think of a large range of scarf ties for a twilly! Those of you who have the Hermes Mors scarf ring might use one with this twilly around your neck to create interest.

Hermès Mors scarf ring

Others may tie twillies around the wrist to make a bracelet:

Making a wrap bracelet with Coup de Fouet au Bloc twilly

Background information

Coulda Shoulda Woulda
My latest batch of Hermes Scarves from AW 2012 and SS 2013 Part 1
A scarf profile post including the original Coup de Fouet.

The Vivienne Files
Integrating a scarf into a common capsule wardrobe: Hermès Coup de Fouet
An excellent article demonstrating how to choose colours from a scarf to purchase accessories.

I hope readers have found this exploration of Coup de Fouet au Bloc 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.

Best wishes,

💜💙❤️💛💚