Silk scarves are all the rage, becoming one of the trendiest accessories over the past year for their versatility and style. To many, silk scarves may just be considered the latest wave of nostalgic fashion, but for Dior they are an art form.

The epitome of French chic, Dior has been a pioneer for the classic accessory since the house’s founding in 1946. Today, Dior’s legacy continues in the fine craftsmanship behind each piece. As a key accessory of its Autumn-Winter 2021 Ready-to-Wear collection by Maria Grazia Chiuri, the silk twill scarves play with classic house codes to create wearable and effortlessly fashionable pieces.

Take a behind-the-scenes look at the design and expert craftsmanship behind Dior’s iconic silk scarves.

The process starts in Dior’s textile studio with the process of colorization, a feat made possible by the method of pen engraving. The hand-rendering of the reimagined ‘Toile de Jouy’ motif turns the scarf into a canvas for the house’s evocative imagery, which has become a contemporary classic. Meticulously hand-drawn in Dior’s textile studio, the design features heavily in this collection in a radiant palette, ranging from navy to chartreuse.

The silk twill is then woven in the house’s Italian ateliers — to the exclusion of the signature ‘Christian Dior’ border. Poetic sketches are brought to life on the sumptuous jacquard silk through silkcreen or inkjet printing. Each method creates a different result on the scarf. The former process ensures extreme precision and vivid colors, transposing the aspects of the pen engraving on the original watercolors. While the latter process prints both sides identically or in different colors, resulting in perfectly reversible scarves, making already versatile accessories even more wearable.

Once the scarves are washed and steamed until the desired look is achieved, the scarves are cut by hand and given frayed edges.

The iconic accessory is now almost ready. Save for one crucial step. In an age-old technique that is a Dior Savoir Faire signature and an ode to the house’s meticulous attention to detail, the edges of the scarf are hand-rolled.

Watch the process for yourself here:

These elegant and audacious accessories are now available at Dior.com.