Collection SS2011: Concours d'Etriers

I'm seizing on two important events - the timid arrival of spring and the Canadian Federal elections - to feature a scarf that echoes the former in colour and the latter in spirit.


Concours d'etriers (Stirrup Contest) depicts many of the stirrups discovered by Emile Hermes from lands close and far-away, and diligently added to his personal collection, one of the many manifestations of his admiration of everything related to the noble horse.  Another account of some of the stirrups was gracefully captured in the classic "Etriers" scarf that I featured on December 31st of 2009, so I won't insist on the items; instead, I thought it appropriate in light of the Canadian political parties undergoing a contest themselves, in which the de facto leader of the country - the Prime Minister - is to be chosen.  As a metaphor for the political landscape, the number of stirrups, and their proximity to each other, make it rather difficult to distinguish and appreciate the individual features and - hence - the beauty of each piece.  That is because their number dazzles us; we train our eye to seek out the pieces that somehow stand out - the larger sizes or those of brighter or darker colours.  Yet we must quickly develop a "plan of attack" to evaluate each item based on its own merits in order to pass an opinion on which one deserves the top prize - a difficult task, naturally !  Fortunately, the beauty of the collection rests not in the impressive number of items that makes it, but in every piece being carefully selected for its inner beauty - through his intense work and discriminate eye, the collector has done the evaluation for us, thereby helping us tremendously!  The question is whether the Canadians will be as passionate and as discriminate as a true connoisseur to choose wisely.


Finally, a word on the arrival of spring (or its hide-and-seek play).  The trees in Toronto have finally bloomed (remember, it is May already!) and the sight is absolutely marvelous.  The joy triggered by the rebirth of nature is without limits and I've been experiencing this sentiment fully over the last week.  I can only imagine what the coming days will surprise us with !


Until then, there's a wonderful surprise in this very scarf design: the way the scarf ties is unexpected and quite beautiful.  Similar in spirit with the "Voyages en etoffes", perhaps the the most delicate example in this scarf is the one depicted below, with a combination of blues, cream and light brown for a truly magic effect.