I am part of many Hermès scarf collector communities.
Very often, I see this scenario: someone posts a scarf and asks for authentication. Someone responds, saying that an authentic Hermès scarf has to be made in France, and if the label suggests otherwise, it must be fake.
Yes, there are many Hermès fakes, including some that claim to be made in Italy. These days, one is more likely to encounter a photorealistic fake that has a ‘made in France’ label nearly identical to the real one, but I digress.
A standard 90cm silk scarf is likely to be made in France. Same for a standard CSGM (140 cm silk-cashmere mix). Hermès has spent decades consolidating its supply chain to make that happen.
However, plenty of very real Hermès scarves are made elsewhere. While Hermès likes to surprise us every few years, here are some very clear not-made-in-France patterns:
Italy — these are typically jacquards. I am not talking about the older-style jacquards where one repeating pattern was woven into the fabric (think kangaroo for Le Geographe, stars for Cosmos, Emblèmes de l’Europe, and En Piste, and gingko leaves for Daimyo Princes du Soleil Levant). I am talking about designs where the design is made of an actual jacquard print, like this Eperon d’Or that is currently on some European websites:
These types of scarves often start with H21, H28, and H58 in their reference numbers.
Another large group made in Italy is cashmere & cashmere-silk stoles, mufflers, and ponchos. Think the 2025 Les Sangles scarf 115 (95% cashmere / 5% silk, H211730S).
There are also men’s mufflers, typically starting with H73 and H39. These are usually a combination of cashmere and silk as well. An example would be a reversible Aller Retour from AW2011 (70% cashmere, 30% silk).
And then, there are cottons and some unusual formats, like the Guépards 80 and the Tatouages Marins Bandana studded scarf 70. Both examples below are from the U.S. website.
Great Britain — in some cases, the country is listed as Great Britain, and sometimes, England or Scotland specifically is listed. These are typically men’s and women’s cashmere knits.
They are usually the H25…S 100% cashmere/cashmere-silk mix knits, such as this Casaque Jumping scarf:
Or — they are the H39…T men’s 100% cashmere/cashmere-silk mix, such as this Colliers de Chiens on the U.S website right now:
Nepal — handwoven cashmeres, typically woven on the shuttle looms. They are sometimes 100% yak, but I have seen 100% silk ones as well. Many are hand-dyed.
Here are some wonderful example of the 100% cashmere ones on the U.S. website right now:
India — these are typically exceptional scarves that have some beading and embroidery. I assume that most of them are printed in Lyon, France, but the embroidery is done in India. Here is a great example on the U.S. website right now:
Japan — these are typically the marble silk scarves, like this one on the UAE website right now:
There are plenty of additional cases, such as Madagascar (usually cotton handkerchiefs), Germany, and Bangladesh.
I have used screenshots from the Hermès websites to illustrate the story in a more ‘official’ way, although I have many examples of all these countries in my own collection.
As always, I welcome comments and corrections.