Symbol-Free Scarves Make a fashion statement, without making a political statement Already dubbed one of this season's "essential accessories" by W magazine, the global-inspired scarf by Balenciaga has been making waves in both the fashion arena and political arena since it's debut on the fall 2007 runway in February. How you ask can a seemingly simple enough scarf cause such a stir? The answer: it's lookalike status to the keffiyeh, a traditional check print headdress worn by Arab men. Coincidence or inspiration? You be the judge. Keffiyeh-inspired scarves have been on and off Europe's fashion radar since the 1980s. Traditionally and most recently, similar scarves have been making appearances in the streetwear getups of European and New York City hipsters, hence W magazines bold proclamation in favor of the Balenciaga scarf. As usual in fashion, the street has influenced the runway. However, the real controversy lies in the high-streets take at a keffiyeh-like number. Both Urban Outfitters and Topshop carried a similar version in the spring of 2007, only to be blasted by bloggers and critics on both sides of the Atlantic. Before being pulled from the shelf by corporate, Urban Outfitter's keffiyeh wanna-be (suspiciously named the "Anit-War Woven Scarf") was the top-sellling scarf at a NYC location. Clever marketing ploy? Perhaps. But does tying a keffiyeh-like scarf loosely around our fashionista necks in an effort to look fashionable expose our feelings and attitudes about the current war being raged in the middle east? While naming your scarf the "Anti-War Scarf" must definitely does, we feel simply wearing it does not. It seems bloggers and critics are trying to draw a parallel where one does not exist. During France's 2003 opposition to the UN's actions in Iraq, when America reacted by renaming French Fries "Freedom Fries", would wearing something as simple as a beret been seen as anti-patriotic? We doubt it. At the end of the day, fashion is fashion and while designers' inspirations are known to evolve from the state of the world, inspiration is equally as likely to come from the street stylings of urban hipsters or the uncalculated pairings of a designer's favorite muse. In the case of the keffiyeh-inspired scarf, don't show your political colors around your neck. Save that for the voting booths.

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