Cracking the code
What those numbers on your Hermès scarf tag actually mean
An Hermès scarf bought brand new at a boutique typically comes with a laminated paper tag attached. Most of us know these tags should have the scarf’s name, colorway, and a reference number. But what does the reference number mean?
Note: everything in the Hermès world has many exceptions. These are basic principles that tend to hold, but by no means universal rules.
Modern Hermès scarf reference codes follow the following pattern:
H + [2-digit format prefix] + [4-digit design number] + [1-letter collection suffix]
Let’s take a look at H001876S, Dallet’s Jungle Love in 90 silk twill:
H is for Hermès and is meaningless really. In the past, it wasn’t used, and some labels still don’t have it.
00 means a 90cm silk twill scarf. This is for plain silk twill, not jacquard, not pleated. 00 is the most common prefix. This rule is pretty universal, one of the few constant Hermès truths.
1876 is the design code for the basic Jungle Love scarf.
S means it is from a women’s collection. Men’s collection items typically end in a T.
Each scarf has a colorway code, e.g., H001876S 29, for the Marine / Vert / Orange colorway of the Jungle Love Forever scarf. A colorway is typically 2 digits, but it may be a letter-digit combination.
Now, the Jungle Love CSGM (140cm silk/cashmere) will have the reference number H241876S, the same as above, but 24 is the prefix for a CSGM.
The design numbers do change when there is a variation of the design. While the ‘regular’ Jungle Love is design # 1876,
3352 is the Jungle Love Tattoo
3369 is the Jungle Love Rainbow.
3513 is the Jungle Love Love, special edition for Valentine’s Day.
3946 is for Jungle Love au Tampon/Printed.
One more comment on the design number — they are often (not always!) consecutive. E.g., SS2024 included the following design numbers:
4089 Silla de Gaucho (Antonio Carrau)
4090 Harnais de Cœur (Daisuke Nomura)
4091 Hermès Flagship (Dimitri Rybaltchenko)
4092 Le Cavalier à la Trompette (Jan Bajtlik)
4093 Coaching Déjà-Vu Shawl 140 (Jérôme Puigros-Puigener after Julie Abadie) — the original Coaching is design #1635, but this is a reissue with a different number.
4094 Precious Paradise (Katie Scott)
4095 Beauté Composée (Nick Doyle)
4096 Les Chevaux Déchaînés Shawl 140 (Octave Marsal)
4097 À la Lumière du Flambeau Double Face 90 (Pierre Marie)
4098 Hermès Locomotion Shawl 140 (Ugo Bienvenu)
4099 Haute Parure (Virginie Jamin)
4100 Animaux Bandana — regular and exceptional (Shinsuke Kawahara)
This consecutive principle usually doesn’t apply to designs like men’s mufflers and other less common formats. I have no idea how they number those, as they are often confusing. For instance, the Scotland cashmere stole and the cashmere scarf are design # 9999.
The reference number repeats from one season to the next if the design is reissued. But the unique combination of the reference number and the colorway doesn’t repeat.
Here is a good example: the Les Tigreaux gavroche. Its reference number is H892491S (89 stands for a 45cm women’s silk gavroche).
The SS2012 edition had colorway numbers 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, and 06.
The AW2019 version had colorway numbers 07, 08, 09, 10, 12, 13, and 14.
So H892491S02 would be the first issue, and H892491S08 would be the second one.
While it is common for Hermès to skip some colorway numbers, a very large colorway number in a 90cm carre typically means many reissues. For instance, the SS2018 issue of Grygkar’s Ex-Libris (H001063S) had colorway numbers as high as 62. This makes sense — the scarf has been issued multiple times. Colorway sequencing is a topic for another post though!
[Note: this post was originally written for and shared in a Facebook group for Hermès scarf collectors, but I wanted to ensure it is shared externally as well.]