Introduction

This is an unusual Scarf of the Moment post in that it includes two amazing formats of one design. I have done this before, with the 90cm and twilly versions of Dans un Jardin Anglais, but I feel that this is on another level: here are the 90cm silk twill scarf and the 140cm cashmere/silk shawl versions of the gorgeous Plumes en Fête by Aline Honoré. Information about both will be interspersed throughout this post.

The silk twill scarf

In the Autumn of 2019, I had firmly decided that my small Hermès scarf collection was complete. There are probably loads of reasons why I shouldn’t purchase any more scarves: I am now in my 60s, I am very ill with multiple chronic conditions, I hardly ever leave the house so rarely get an opportunity to “dress up”, and storage space is getting very cramped. But the new season’s offer started to appear and I began to slide down the slippery orange slope once again…

So, let me introduce you to my purchase for the Spring/Summer 2020 season:

Plumes en Fête scarf by Aline Honoré for Hermès

Plumes en Fête, colourway #09, product code H003433S 09, designed by Aline Honoré.

Description of the silk twill scarf

On opening the iconic orange box and gently taking out the scarf, a swirl of beautiful feathers sweeps into view. They have a sense of movement around a central empty space, as if the wind has caught them in an eddy. With the scarf laid out flat, the feathers appear to begin from the top right and bottom left-hand corners, with a clockwise motion. Even the corners of the scarf are filled. There is no border to the scarf which also has a lovely contrast hem. The whole scarf is a study in pattern and movement. Each feather is drawn in amazing realistic detail with beautiful markings and use of colour.

I chose the colourway #09 because I love blues and, yes, there are many shades of that colour in this masterpiece. There is also a vivid green, turquoise, white, a subtle purple and pale orange. The contrast hem is another shade of purple. Some of the other versions of the scarf have more variety in their colours, others are more like the shades available in nature, some are vivid and fun, and others are subtle or pastel. I think that there is a colourway for almost everyone!

Colourways for the silk twill scarf

The colourway for my scarf is #09: Bleu Cobalt/Turquoise/Vert. These are all of the versions offered for the silk twill, 90cm, Spring/Summer 2020 season. If you click on any of the images, you will be able to see a larger picture with the Hermès purchasing code.

H003433S 06

H003433S 09

H003433S 01

H003433S 10

H003433S 05

H003433S 04

H003433S 07

H003433S 08

H003433S 03

H003433S 02

H003433S 11

During the Autumn/Winter 2020 season, this amazing 90cm exceptional scarf appeared online. As you can see, it is made of silk and covered with beads, sequins and embroidery, which apparently took over 135 hours to complete by hand. It is, at the time of writing, currently available for $4850 on the US website! Here are some images, the purchasing code is at the bottom of the first picture:

H593433S 02

Here is another photo, which really shows off the beautiful beading:

And a modelling shot:

The cashmere/silk shawl

During the Summer of 2020, the new scarves and shawls began to appear in discussions online. I had been thinking for some time that I had really run out of storage space for more scarves and that I should really restrict my purchases. Lovely Husband agreed that I should buy only a few more and so I decided that I would look at the extremely expensive cashmere silks and consider whether I could save up for one!

So, I had a look, thought for a while, and then dived in!

Plumes en Fête shawl by Aline Honoré for Hermès

Plumes en Fête, colourway #04, product code H243433S 04, designed by Aline Honoré.

Description of the cashmere/silk shawl

I have already described the artwork of this amazing shawl in the “Description of the silk twill scarf” paragraph above, so I will not repeat it here. I will say that the effect of the swirling feathers is even more beautiful in this larger version.

Since I changed my second wardrobe neutral colour from brown to grey, I have purchased quite a lot of clothing in shades of this colour, mainly for my Winter wardrobe. My scarf collection, on the other hand, contains very few scarves with grey even in small amounts. As I already own a Liberty of London shawl in blues, I decided that I should choose an Hermès shawl to look fantastic with grey.

My final choice was colourway #04: Gris Chiné, Mauve, Rose. That background colour is a light grey and the feathers are depicted in a lovely blue, pink, mauve, greenish-yellow, tomato red and orange. The contrast hem is a lovely deep orange. There are also touches of black and a bright white.

These colours are completely beyond my usual choices and I felt a bit uncomfortable when I opened the orange box. As Hermès scarfies will know, the images on the website are different from the real scarves, usually varying subtlely. But this time the difference is quite marked! See what you think when you see the “real life” photos further down this post.

Colourways for the cashmere/silk shawl

The cashmere/silk 140cm shawl colourways for Autumn/Winter 2020 can now be seen. Once again you can click on any of the images to see a larger picture with the Hermès purchasing code.

H243433S 02

Plumes en Fête shawl (H243433S 04)

H243433S 05

H243433S 09

H243433S 10

H243433S 11

H243433S 12

H243433S 16

H243433S 18

Design story

Details of the silk twill scarf

Here are some close-ups of my scarf in a slideshow format:

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Details of the cashmere/silk shawl

Here are some close-ups of my shawl in a slideshow format:

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How I wear the scarf and shawl

At the time of writing this post (beginning of January 2020), I haven’t yet worn the scarf with any of my outfits, so have been unable to make my usual “Outfit of the Day” collages. When I do wear this gorgeous scarf, it will be with cobalt, navy blue and also with white. I might also see what it looks like with other shades of blue. I would be interested to know if readers of the blog would try it with other colours. There is a lovely shade of bright green in the scarf, but I don’t have clothing in that colour.

The same applies to the shawl, as the weather is not suitable for wearing it yet!

When I can make some collages, they will be added here.

Scarf ties

I have taken some quick photos of possible scarf ties. In truth, there really are endless ways of using this scarf to show its beautiful features. I think that the waterfall knot looks particularly amazing, although it’s not very practical for daily life!

Plumes en Fête – scarf ties

1) Top row L to R: simple bias fold, cowl knot, cowboy cowl knot.
2) Middle row L to R: waterfall knot, simple tie, edo knot.
3) Bottom row L to R: criss-cross knot, asymmetric wrap, half-bow knot.
Many of these scarf ties were made using a MaiTai mother-of-pearl scarf ring.

Shawl ties

Here are a few photos of my first attempts at tying this scarf – some more successful than others:

Plumes en Fête – shawl ties

Background information

I tried to find some information about the designer of the scarf, Aline Honoré, but was unable to track down very much worth linking to here. If anyone can point me in the right direction, I would be very grateful.

First, a video featuring Plumes en Fête:

HSCI Hermes Scarf Catalogue
Aline Honoré
Some of the wonderful scarves designed by the artist.

Next, I have just seen that the amazing MaiTai also has a Plumes en Fète scarf. It is included in this interesting recent post on her blog:

MaiTai’s Picture Book
Palmier knot

…with a major post about it here:

MaiTai’s Picture Book
Spring postcard with a new scarf, scarf rings and Liberty of London inserts

I though that I would also include a detailed article about feathers…

Wikipedia
Feather
Comprehensive article with links and references.

Ooh, by the way, Hermès have produced gorgeous enamel bangles in the Plumes en Fête design! Here are a couple of photos:

I hope readers have found this exploration of Plumes en Fête, scarf and shawl, 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,

Anne

💕💗💖💗💕

Updated 10/08/20 to add information about the cashmere/silk shawl, general updating and some new links.

Updated 14/09/20 to add details and photos of the exceptional silk beaded 90cm scarf.