Having made many elaborate headpieces over the years, I was aware that my approach has been from a western tradition, a fitted base shape that hugged the head and balanced the statement a top.

My fascination with Oriental performance and ceremonial headpieces was with the approach to construction. How they were made? How did they fit the performers? What gave them their lightweight but ornate look?

The charming Mr Andrew Chueng was my guide and translator for our seamless subway journey to the suburb of Jordan, on the Kowloon side of Hong Kong to visit Mr Chan’s studio.

Mr Chan and Mr Cheung

Mr Chan started his career as a performer in Chinese Opera. For the past 50 years he has been making costumes for local and international opera performers .

Mr Chan’s world is a chaotic space with 100’s of opera costumes and headpieces stored in white plastic bags hanging from the ceiling, tumbling out of boxes all stacked on top of each other. The space is so crowded that only a narrow pathway exists as a passage through this labyrinth of eye catching baubles, sharp edged costumes and twinkly theatrical bling.

Mr Chan in his busy show room with Opera headpiece

This is the sample showroom for Mr Chan’s costume factory in mainland China.

Internal lattice wire support

layered rows of motif build up a rich visual texture

After settling in at Mr Chan’s showroom with Andrew translating, I was enlightened by the construction of the headpieces. The  approach is two dimensional on an open , breathable mess, with a  layering of concentric rows  of repeated  motifs  to create  an ornate sense of depth – a richly textured halo.

The technique is confident and well tested.

 The fit is adjustable for a changing cast of performers and the attention to detail of the components is magical, assembled by a diligent team of experienced helpers to Mr Chan and his twinkly theatrical realm.

discussing how the headpieces balance and attach to the head

I have come away from this cultural exchange with new ideas on how to construct headpieces, how to make them cooler for the performer and how to boldly treat embellishment.  I will have to refine my oriental eye.

My task ahead is to make Mr Chan’s exquisite sample that arrived at my door in Sydney stay on the head of a tumbling performer and look pristine throughout the run of a show. The task ahead.

Mr Chan and I

Victoria Hunt, Maureen Lander, Latai Taumoepeau, Kiri Morcombe and Keren Ruki

PARRAMATARIKI

On a cold June evening,  I caught  a sunset  ferry from Circular Quay to Parramatta in Sydney to the opening of PARRAMATARIKI – Stories from Across the Sea, a flax weaving installation at the Parramatta Artists Studios.

Two weaving artists, Maureen Lander and Keren Ruki had been commissioned by the Parramatta Council to conduct community weaving workshops with the wider Parramatta community, to share knowledge and stories about mats and mat making techniques.

June heralds the rise of the Pleiades cluster of stars, known in Maori culture as Matariki. It marks the beginning of the New Year in the southern hemisphere.

Parramatariki (Shining eyes of god) star theme was used in many of the weaving installations.

a mat woven from packing tape into a star pattern hung from the ceiling

FIBRE WEAVING  has always been a very strong tradition in Pacific cultures and New Zealand Flax is a versatile fibre for splitting and making into mats, ropes , baskets and sometimes hats.

The young fronds, cut from the heart of the plant are split into strips ready for weaving.  Fine or coarse weave strips are woven with cross threads from left to right to create a variety of utility objects.

The May community workshops conducted   by the artists allowed many participants to learn the weaving techniques, to sit and share memories of hand working skills. 

samples of community straw weaving

A feast setting was  created to celebrate the New Year with a long flax mat woven especially for the event. Baskets and decorations were also woven to adorn the festive table. 

Parramatta feast setting with woven mats, baskets and decorations

I was particularly moved by the strong sense of family, community spirit and shared traditional knowledge at this event . The collective act of sitting and hand weaving  meshed a range of a people together.

The exhibition runs from June 4^th to 3^rd September at

Parramatta Artists Studios,

45 Hunter St Parramatta

NSW 2150

images courtesy of Maureen Lander

exhibition window, a tribute to Victoria and Albert

Hats: An Anthology By Stephen Jones has been on exhibit at the Queensland Art Gallery in Brisbane since 27th March.

This exhibition was first shown in March 2009 at the V&A Museum in London.

Tony Elwood, Director of the Queensland Art Gallery showed great forsight in bringing this exhibition exclusively to Brisbane in Australia.

It will travel to other international venues over the next few years.

For the headwear profession both in Australia and globally, this is a timely celebration of  a very prominant  part of our apparel, particularly at a time when younger people are now choosing hats as fashion accessories.

 The exhibition draws  focus to the culture of headwear design, hat making and showcases a myriad hat styles and techniques across the decades.

Many Australian milliners and headwear industry colleagues were in Brisbane on a balmy March evening to toast the opening of this event and to meet the gracious Stephen Jones.

Since the opening, Brisbane has gone mad about hats.

In just 6 weeks the exhibition has attracted over 100,000 visitors in Brisbane. This is more than visited the exhibition over the entire season at the V&A in London

Stephen Jones catwalk piece

Miranda Wallace, Curator of the Australian component of the exhibition says,

‘we have had an extrodinary response from a huge range of people, particularly young men. Everybody loves this exhibition’.

Miguel Aquilizan showing young people at QAG how to make headpieces

With free entry and another 5 weeks to go, I recommend a visit to this eclectic collection of headwear.

Check out the Hat Salon adjacent to the exhibition exit. It is displaying and selling the works of both Australian and English hat makers.

Mourning bonnet

I am hosting a sale of milliners tat this weekend.

Alex Panozzo and Tess Schofield are parting with their tat.

For sale are
Braids,tassels, veiling,ribbons,buckles,buttons,flowers,
Assorted felt and straw hoods,felt and straw pieces (idealfor trims), straw braid, collapsible hat boxes and assorted sundry items.

Cash sales only.

SAT 24TH- SUN 25TH APRIL 10AM TO 4PM or until sold out.

Come along to 273 AUSTRALIA ST NEWTOWN (1min from Newtown station)
Easiest to come by train or bus and bring your own bag.
Wear a hat if you are inclined.

You can download the invite here

In my work as a bespoke hat maker I have found some general variations exist  in head shape. Asian heads tend to be round with fullness at the temples. African heads are elongated like Neferatiti. Anglo Australian heads tend to be oval.

When making hats for clients hat makers must consider the shape of the hole they create to fit the head into. Headsize and shape create what is known as the ” fit of the hat”. This can vary all over the world.
Some of my clients come to me because they have trouble finding a comfortable fit in a commercially manufactured hat. In Australia most hats are made to a standard oval headshape.

Just last week a client came for a fitting.

His head was flat at the back, full at the sides with a snubby proud forehead. When I drew a picture of his headshape it looked like a piece of sliced bread!

Staff at Lock Hatters, London with the conformature

A minature template was gleaned and hats could be formed to fit exactly to the clients headshape. A very handy gadget for the hatter (Place and order for a hat and have it delivered fitting perfectly.)

Recently in London I visited Lock and Co Hatters in St James St. They have a conformer on show. Interestingly on their walls they have some conformer templates of famous London hat wearers. The shape of these heads shows great variety.

Head shapes of famous London hat wearers at Lock Hatters

Nothing is more exciting than walking down the street and marvelling at a fabulous hat at it comes towards you.The Jewish men wear their sharp black felts proudly, as do the Indians in their turbans.

A good shape in a hat will turn heads!

How do you get a great shape in a hat?
It starts way back at the design phase where a hat block or form is chosen to mould the felt or straw on.
Recently I was in Italy visiting a hat block maker, Mr Pellucci. He creates shapes for the Italian hat industry and I had the pleasure to chat with him about his work.
His sculpting skill is very specialised and is hugely repected by the headwear industry because without a good form you can not have a good hat. Pictured are some of his sample shapes.

wooden hat forms

I visited museum collections, hat manufacturers, hat designers, retailers and fashion expositions, meeting many passionate hat wearers and hat makers along the way.

Now happily home in sunny Sydney, I have created this blog to foster a dialogue between  those who share my enthusiasm for headwear.We will discuss hat styles and how they suit different face shapes, fibres, sartorial trends, manufacturing, headwear in the media and what is currently being created on  hatters benches. Guest contributors will elaborate on  particular  topics  and I  invite your participation and comments.