Sometimes Monday mornings can feel like a drag, but not this particular Monday. It was the opening of Hats: an Anthology by Stephen Jones at the V&A and so instead of a Monday morning scowl we made our way to the museum with a quickened step, after all who better than Mr. Jones to compile such a comprehensive collection of headgear.
The exhibition features a variety of Stephen's own designs amongst offerings from other milliners, designers and ancient examples such as an Anubis headdress from 600BC. This is no stuffy museum exhibit; it's been curated with a real artistic eye. The space itself is dimly lit, with a country garden feel - the hub of the anthology, a reenactment of millinery life and a studio in motion. A conformator (a hat measuring machine) sits pride of place and desks and floor are strewn with trimmings. Other thematic touches include a case dedicated to Cecil Beaton, floral, candy-coloured and inspired by the scene in My Fair Lady when Eliza goes to the races. Another showcases Queen Victoria’s bonnet and Prince Albert’s top hat sit side-by-side, apt when you think of the museum in which the exhibit sits.
Instead of a dry chronology of hats, spanning decades, you go from case to case according to titles such as ‘feathers’, ‘history’, ‘geometry’ and, our personal favourite, ‘London’. This means that there are hidden surprises everywhere: a top hat stenciled with bats, a ‘Wash and Go’ hat emulating shampoo bubbles frozen in time, and a jester’s cap from the 17th century, perfectly preserved.
After three intense days of catwalk shows it was nice to take a leisurely stroll in a quiet museum. Harriet’s Muse (aka Cheryl Partington and Craig Spellar) must have picked up on our aura as they presented an a/w09 show with a difference. Four chairs, four models, four hat stands and two designers dressing them, live on the catwalk. And you thought Project Catwalk was fashion reality. Before our very eyes we saw outfits take shape, models being laced into corseted dresses by Craig, whilst Cheryl artfully ripped the gauzy fabric on the hemline. This wasn’t just a narcissistic move on the designer’s part, sick of the models hogging the limelight, but rather an effort to create something out of nothing, namely surplus fabric stores in their studio and recycled trimmings. Slow paced and thoughtful, it was as if the backstage mayhem had been slowed down and put on show.
After two events without a traditional catwalk show, why break the trend. Over to the BFC we went, this time to inspect the exhibition. On the ground floor, just a hop skip and a jump away from the official catwalk are the estethica stands where, as we’ve come to expect, People Tree was holding court. Continuing with their designer collaborations, Bora Aksu has leant his unique fairytale vision to the ethical brand once again with some hand embroidered silk pieces and Eley Kishimoto have been added to the mix with a series of their instantly recognisable abstract prints.
Upstairs, in the NewGen section of the exhibition, we caught up with Krystof Strozyna who’s show we missed by a split second on Sunday. Mint green form-sculpting dresses left us even more gutted we missed the clothes on the catwalk. The upside to visiting a stand is to see nifty details up close, such as the delicate string feature that made Krystof’s clothes distinctive. His NewGen neighbour Hannah Marshall was also experimenting with surprising details such as hardened stingray skin collars and braces on her LBDs. Next season we want to see her catwalk debut!
And finally, we couldn’t go a whole day without entertaining the idea of a procession of models doing what they do best and so it was off to William Tempest at the Fashion Scout. With a headcount to rival John Rocha (and with Hermione from Harry Potter sitting front row) there was a manic atmosphere, all were hotly anticipating this designer. The clothes are sexy science fiction, with a sculpted silhouette of jutting peplums and capped shoulders that looks set to be huge in a/w09. Prints looked to the future with electric lightning adorning one dress but also to the past with an homage to Tudor times: Henry VIII and daughter Elizabeth I peered out from printed panels. Perhaps they were admiring the blinging diamond print, splashed over a silk dress and William’s own shirt.
Wasn’t it Bob Geldof who sung ‘I Don’t Like Monday’s’? He would have liked this one.
Words: Selene Pearson
Photos: Kate Gillett
