Dufy Orchestra Silk Habotai Scarf

DESIGNER'S NOTES

A colourful Fox & Chave silk habotai scarf featuring a detail from La Fée Électricité (The Electricity Fairy), a monumental mural created for the 1937 Paris International Exposition by Raoul Dufy (1877-1953).

This specific section of the mural depicts an orchestra, symbolising the dissemination of music through the modern power of electricity and radio broadcasting in particular. Dufy utilised his signature 'stenographic' style, where vibrant washes of colour, representing the atmosphere of sound, are dissociated from the rapid, sketched outlines of the musicians.

Dufy was a celebrated French Fauvist whose optimistic art bridged the gap between painting and design. Initially influenced by Impressionism, he adopted Fauvism’s bold colours before developing his signature style, that separated vibrant washes of colour from rapid, sketched outlines.

His influence was profound in the decorative arts. Through a prolific partnership with couturier Paul Poiret and silk manufacturer Bianchini-Férier, Dufy created thousands of textile patterns that helped define the Art Deco aesthetic.

COLOURS

STYLING

A Fox & Chave habotai silk scarf can be worn with the classic knot style or a pussycat bow. You can even create a shawl effect by knotting two scarves together behind your neck and allowing them to drape over your shoulders. More scarf styling ideas are available in this wonderful How to Tie a Scarf book.