"Grail' is such a personal thing unless you're talking about serious collector grails as
@marietouchet mentioned, and I agree with her, that's another category entirely. I suspect most of us have our lists of designs/cws we missed the first go around, or something ignored then and coveted now, and the lists probably include designs like Turandot (mine does
). I wonder though if
marietouchet's point about 'chatter' being a fundamental driver of 'grail-dom' isn't really the crux of the matter. Or maybe 'grail' isn't really the most accurate term; 'hyper-popular' might be more on point. If we're all following our mother's guidance not to say anything if there's nothing nice to be said, and of course no one wants to rain on a scarfie's parade, is anyone really going to step up and say, "wow, that one's a dud?" And further, there's always something new around the bend to get excited about, either designs or cws or both, so it's not easy for an issue to have the serious staying power that I think would cement it as a grail.
I haven't seen any definitive numbers that would lead me to conclude there's a true slump, but the anecdotal evidence suggests that many longer time collectors have bulging scarf drawers and no real inclination to add to the piles unless it's for something beyond incredible, to satisfy a whim, to fill a cw hole, or some similarly strong impetus. I think it also matters whether you think the season's offerings have hit a sweet spot for you, otherwise...meh.
Finally, I suspect there's a larger issue at work with how the perception of the H silk scarf has changed over the years (from the 1950's to today); its status as a signifier isn't necessarily what it used to be. I happen to adore Christine Lagarde's style, but is there anyone under 40 who is widely recognized in a favorable context, and who's signature style includes an H scarf? This is probably just a kernel of an even larger conversation about the nature of fashion and style in the 21st century, but that's a broader topic