A neckerchief instantly take your look to new heights

Few items in the men’s wardrobe can add the same power to a look as a neckerchief can. But what is it that makes the little silk or cotton cloth so special, and how can it be styled? We guide you in connection with our just launched The Floral Capsule Collection.

Text: Alexander Gram
Photo: Jon Grossert

T yler the Creator and Rami Malek love to tie the little silk cloth around their necks. At the hyped sport-luxury brand Casablanca it is their refined signature, and for as long as I can remember, my black neckerchief with a signature print from Hermés has had a key role in my personal wardrobe. For the small cloth that typically comes along in silk or cotton, something very special can be done when you put a look together, and therefore it’s not so surprising that the neckerchief is finally one of the AW21 season’s big trends in men’s fashion.

For an example, GQ’s British style writer and editor Teo van den Broeke only needs to use one line in an article on their website from the spring to encapsulate what it is that makes this little detail so unique and relevant:

"The neckerchief is (red.) a surefire way to lift a pedestrian outfit into the realms of something more special".

Besides being able to instantly elevate your look to new heights just like Mr. Broeke points out, then it also can be worn whether you are wearing your nicest suit or just in a t-shirt and jeans. Not many items can be attributed to the same kind of versatility as a neckerchief can. And by the way – it is a detail that has always been underestimated in the men’s wardrobe for way too long, if you ask me.

In a new collection here at AN IVY, which illustrator Clara Selina Bach has created the motives for, we have just launched four new neckerchiefs in silk/cotton, which are an extension of last year’s collab with the watch-expert Kristian Haagen. The motives as well as the bright color choices give the cloths so many beautiful and eye-catching details that they at first glance manifest Mr. Broekes description of the small cloth.

”I have done a lot to create motives and compositions where there is a lot of color, so you really can get different expressions and colors out of your pocket square or your neckerchief depending on how it’s folded, how it’s put in the pocket, tied around the neck or even in the hair. In that way, one scarf fits several looks and color combinations”, she says.

So far, I have used mine pieces from the collection with Clara Selina Bach together with both an Oxford shirt and suit, but also in completely monochrome looks with a black t-shirt, blue suit pants paired with loafers – and I have both folded them completely tight and classic, but also as a triangle in the best The Row-style. In this way the beautiful motives have been more visible on my shoulders.

Although the neckerchief is my absolute favorite detail, and that it’s trending in men’s fashion right now, it is also still an item to which some connotations have been attached which it’s been like for decades. Danish author, Martin Kongstad, who always is well-dressed in a neckerchief describes it perfectly in the new Euroman, where he has been voted as one of the country’s best dressed men: “The neckerchief is almost a caricatured symbol of wealth”.

But for me, the neckerchief in 2021 is to a much greater extent a symbol of great taste and a special sense of detail. And I hope that the movement in fashion this season will get even more people to incorporate the details into their wardrobes. We will at least do our part to push the look forward.

You can shop our neckerchiefs HERE.

Also read: The Foral Capsule Collection Lookbook: AN IVY & Clara Selina Bach