Millinery on Display at the Victoria and Albert Museum

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Art

Friday, 27 March 2009 10:34

By Globespotters

London | A visit to the millinery exhibit — Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones — currently on display (until May 31) at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London may inspire you to wear hats on a daily basis. Stephen Jones, one of the world’s foremost hat designers, has selected 300 hats from the museum’s archive, as well as from millinery collections worldwide. Among the hats on display are an Egyptian Anubis mask from 600 B.C. to a 1950s Balenciaga hat to couture creations of the moment.

The exhibition is broken down into four sections — Inspiration, Creation, The Salon, and The Client — with each section representing a stage in a hat’s life cycle from inception to the final product.
The “Inspiration” section showed a wide variety of materials, as well as historic hats. One rather macabre one — not for the squeamish — consisted of a fox pelt with the fox’s head draped over the crown of the head, embedded with a dead bird.

The “Creation” area is set up like a milliner’s atelier. From there the hats go to “The Salon,” the milliner’s public showcase. On display are designs by Philip Treacy, Mitza Bricard for Christian Dior, Vladzio d’Attainville for Balenciaga, Claude St. Cyr for Norman Hartnell, Chanel and Stephen Jones.

“The Client” focuses on the relationship between milliner and client. A good milliner offers advice and recommends styles to suit a face. Apparently, a turban is flattering for those with a large nose whereas asymmetric styles suit wide faces. On show are hats worn by Queen Elizabeth II, as well as Johnny Depp, Bjork and Madonna. Hats from theater and film include the straw hat worn by Audrey Hepburn in “My Fair Lady.” Other hats include one worn by Ava Gardner and two berets worn by Marlene Dietrich and a bonnet worn by Queen Victoria.

The exhibit (www.vam.ac.uk; 011-44-844-209-1770; Victoria and Albert Museum Cromwell Road) runs through May 31.

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