History of the headscarf as an accessory From Audrey Hepburn to Billie Eilish, celebrities are obsessed with Old Hollywood-style headscarves
Balaclava? Warm woolen beanies? Headbands a la Brigitte Bardot? No. Or rather, not only. The unexpected celebrity obsession for autumn/winter 2023 is a delicate silk handkerchief knotted under the chin, just like in films and photos of old Hollywood divas. From Audrey Hepburn to Kendall Jenner, from Jackie Kennedy to Billie Eilish - everyone is fascinated by this piece of fabric, which is more versatile than any other item of clothing and takes on different stylistic characteristics and socio-cultural meanings depending on the era, tradition and wearer. Filtered through pop culture and personal memories, the headscarf as a hair ornament evokes an overlap of contrasting images and moods that combine with a fashionable file rouge Queen Elizabeth and Lily Collins in Emily in Paris, an old-fashioned grandmother and Julia Fox on the streets of New York, stars driving around in convertibles with the handkerchief flapping in the wind, and Carrie Bradshaw in And Just Like That, with the knotted babushka-style carré to protect her hair from the smell of cigarettes.
One, no, a hundred thousand ways to wear it
The scarf is still very popular today due to its extreme versatility. As millions of videos on TikTok show, there are many different ways to wear it. A couple? Knotted around the neck, used as a belt, displayed on the wrist like a bracelet, attached to a handbag, left loose and dangling over one or both shoulders, but mostly as a hair accessory that remains contemporary. It can be alternated with strands to create a more special braid, used as a clip for a ponytail, worn as a Pirates of the Caribbean style bandana, or made into a "Kelly" where the bandana is wrapped over the head attached to the neck and then knotted at the back. The current trend style? The “Babushka”," simply tied under the chin.
The headscarf in 2023
Celebrities such as Kendall Jenner, Billie Eilish and Dua Lipa are celebrating the comeback of the headscarf knotted under the chin in 2023. The role model is Audrey Hepburn, a timeless style icon whose classic looks on and off the screen often included the scarf, even when she married Italian psychiatrist Andrea Dotti. Billie Eilish, for example, uses it to elevate her streetwear style by playing with monogram prints, retro polka dots or plain colours, giving her tomboy aesthetic an interesting contrasting twist. Kendall Jenner, on the other hand, ties them either under her chin or behind her head to add a snazzy twist to her calm luxury looks, while Dua Lipa was one of the first to use them as a winter accessory in a snowy snap from January 2022.
