DESIGNER'S NOTES

A striking floral Fox & Chave silk chiffon scarf of tulips in wine red and rich yellow from a 17th century Dutch flower painting from a time when Tulip Mania gripped Europe.

Tulips became a defining symbol of the Dutch Republic in the seventeenth century, when the flowers, newly arrived from the Ottoman Empire, ignited a passion that crossed art, horticulture and finance.

Their rarity and striking forms, particularly the flame-like variegations caused by a mosaic virus, elevated them to luxury status. Wealthy merchants cultivated them in private gardens, commissioning paintings to record prized specimens, and bulbs were traded for extravagant sums in what became known as Tulip Mania in the 1630s.

Beyond economics, tulips embodied the Dutch Republic’s global reach and fascination with the exotic, arriving through networks of trade that made Amsterdam a hub of wealth. They also carried moral weight, symbolising the fragility of fortune and the brevity of beauty.

COLOURS

STYLING

There are many ways to style a Fox & Chave chiffon silk scarf including the basic drape, belted drape and reverse drape. Our chiffon silk scarfs look really good worn in the bandit knot or faux infinity style too. More scarf styling ideas are available in this wonderful How to Tie a Scarf book.