There’s something deliciously subversive about the return of the silk scarf.
Once reserved for the kind of style icons who had personal drivers and digestives in their glove compartments (think: Jackie O, Princess Grace, any of the nonnas in your childhood neighbourhood), scarves are having a modern-day resurgence. And not simply as throwback gimmicks, but as chic mood-setters, personality pieces, and the ultimate subtle luxury.
It makes sense. We’re in a moment where fashion has shifted from maximalism to meaning. The scarf is that rare accessory that doesn’t need to shout—it just quietly elevates. Worn tied in your hair, knotted around your neck, or wrapped around the handle of your everyday tote, a silk scarf says: “I thought about this.” Which, really, is the whole point now.
Leave it to Gucci to lean into that quiet power with serious intent. In its latest campaign, Keep It Gucci: The Art of Silk, the Italian house pays homage to its decades-long love affair with the medium—silk as a language, not just a fabric. Actress Julia Garner fronts the campaign, photographed by Steven Meisel in a dreamlike, noir-tinged visual narrative that spotlights the scarf not as an accessory, but as a protagonist. It moves with her, it speaks through her.
The campaign also brings back Gucci’s celebrated Flora motif—originally illustrated in 1966 by Italian artist Vittorio Accornero de Testa—in all its archival glory. The intricate design, a bouquet of seasonal blooms, is reimagined across new silk pieces that feel both poetic and punchy: think poppy reds, high-contrast greens, and fluttery prints caught mid-motion like they’ve just stepped out of a Luca Guadagnino film.
Beyond the campaign, Gucci’s broader Art of Silk initiative dives deeper into its silk heritage. Through collaborations with nine international artists and a coffee table book created with publishing house Assouline, the house unpacks not just the history of the silk scarf, but its future. One that’s less about preciousness, and more about play.
Because if this moment in fashion is about anything, it’s about returning to pieces that make you feel something. A scarf that reminds you of your mum. A print that makes you want to dance. The swoosh of silk on skin that feels like summer nights and perfume and possibility.
So yes, the scarf is back. But really, it never left.
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