Grace Kelly and the Hermès scarf

1956: The gesture that changed everything

In 1956, Grace Kelly, accompanied by her poodle Oliver, wore the famous Hermès scarf. But it was not this photo that would go down in history.

That same year, Grace Kelly transformed the Hermès scarf into an elegant sling to support her broken arm. A practical, improvised gesture, photographed by chance. And yet this image would travel the world and forever change the status of the Hermès square.

Who was Grace Kelly?

An Oscar-winning actress who became Princess of Monaco by marrying Prince Rainier III, Grace Kelly embodied an ideal of American elegance tinged with European aristocracy. Alfred Hitchcock made her his muse. The whole world watched her.

Her style was precise — never ostentatious, always just right. The Hermès carré fit perfectly: luxurious without being showy, elegant without being cold.

A lasting relationship

It was not an isolated coup. Grace Kelly regularly returned to the Hermès scarf throughout her life. She wore it tied in her hair, around her neck, on her shoulders. Each appearance further strengthened the association between her image and the House.

In 2010, the carré was a protagonist in the major exhibition dedicated to Grace Kelly at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Twenty-eight years after her death, the link between Grace Kelly and Hermès is still as strong as ever.