A Deep Cut Destined for Stardom

Plus ten other favorites that have never returned to production

The best ones are sometimes the least popular ones

I call them the deep cuts. Not because Hermès said so, but because they’re the scarf version of those CD tracks nobody talked about and of course, they end up being better than the songs everyone knows. These are the scarves that appeared once and then disappeared. They didn’t have endless reissues, no new colorways, no place in the “everyday favorites” lineup (another one of my own terms). They’re the outliers, the oddballs and the designs you don’t see very often but can’t stop thinking about once you do.

Everyone knows Brides de Gala. Everyone has seen Jungle Love. They’re the scarf world’s equivalent of Top 40 radio. They are undeniably great, but can feel a little too familiar sometimes. And don’t get my wrong, I have these in my collection too and love them! But deep cuts, on the other hand, keep you on your toes because you never know when one will show up, and when it does, you feel like you’ve uncovered a secret (or at least I do).

Wednesday night’s single-owner restock gave me one deep cut in two formats that I’ve never had before: Nuées Imaginaires. I suspected they’d do well, but they ended up stealing the show. Both sold well above my expected estimate, but for good reason. For a design that doesn’t surface often, Nuées Imaginaires managed to be the breakout star of the night, which only confirmed my suspicion that people are more than ready for something other than the usual suspects.

So let’s take a closer look at Nuées Imaginaires as a motif, and then I’ll share a handful of my favorite deep cuts of all time. This is the Hermès historian’s playlist of underrated tracks and the designs that never got their encore but probably should have and maybe still will. And if nothing else, it might make you think twice the next time you see a scarf you don’t immediately recognize. The odds are, it’s not forgettable, but it is a deep cut.