Why silk scarves are the hottest accessory of 2025 and how to wear them now - from £11

Two weeks ago I got the urge to dig out the two beloved Hermes silk scarves I’ve owned for more than a decade and haven’t used or even thought about for half of that time.

This came after seeing the debut collection by Celine’s new designer Michael Rider in Paris which literally melted the Internet overnight in early July. Fresh from working at Ralph Lauren for six years, Rider blended modern preppy energy with sharp minimalist tailoring, chucked in a splash of rock and roll and blended that cocktail with sassy French girl-about-town silk square styling.

This show sent grown women – I wasn’t the only one – rummaging for long forgotten silk squares so they, too, could channel the styling magic from the show and moreover adopt an instant mood-boosting fashion injection that does not involve a “buy now” button.

If show attendees were in any doubt as to the star of this show, all they had to do was look up – the entire venue was tented with a giant billowing Celine silk square snaking with chains and C logos. If you’re looking for ways to wear yours now – and you know where yours are, right? Celine’s squares were tied cowboy style, with the V to the front and knotted at the back; as a looser cowboy, with the square draped low across shirt fronts, and as a chic neck-covering style with a smaller V to the front, a small knot beneath with the ends hanging neatly.

Really though, Celine simply cemented what is already a major return of the silk square to mainstream fashion, all part of the wider return of chic after years of chunky trainers and baggier styles.

In the last couple of months, I’ve seen silk squares worn as a belt-slash- patterned addition to a plainer look, hanging prettily from handbags or tied into a bow on bag handles, as a beachy bandeau top, Boy Scout style with a little brooch tie, and even – surprise! - worn as an actual headscarf, a turban, ponytail tie, or headband. There are dozens of ways to make them your own, and that is the fun of it all.

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