Close up of Mr Treacy's hat

I have spent many a lovely morning at Leeds Archive, it makes you stop and think and invites so many thoughts about the origin of objects and the lives they have had. I was invited to join the evening class students as they looked at feathered hats within the collection and were shown the damage the many bugs and creepy crawlies can do to feathered objects ( one of those itchy moments) a fantastic opportunity.

A flavour of the archive a place of magic and dreams

 I had seen the Philip Treacy hat that the museum had had commissioned for their Ruffled Feather exhibition in 2010 and knew how much it had cost and the trials and tribulations. It was still a privilege to see it so close and more importantly for myself to see its construction, how was the wire inserted, what was the ribbon that had been used? ( A stretchy velvet) How were the feathers added? Smaller quills support the main plumage. and what was the twist made of? It is so strange that the hat will never be worn, just live i its grandiose box and come out for exhibitions, an intriguing museum conundrum.

The underside of the Philip Treacy hat-key for every milliner to see how it was done

Close up on centre twist - Philip Treacy feathered hat

Ostrich feathers on Victorian Bonnet

My Ruffled Feather hat Property of Leeds Museum and Galleries - Very strange to have one's hat brought out to be examined.

 I was very fortunate that when I designed a piece for the exhibition I was approached along with Justine Bradley-Hill for the museum services to purchase my hat for the collection, a real honour.
But a funny feeling to have it there for others to critique and examine, all god experience.

hat by Justine Bradley-Hill

One so much wants to put the Philip Treacy hat on your head, strange that it will never be worn.

Stunning feathers - though not quite sustainable

Sinamay - The marmite of Millinery materials?

I had an interesting experience teaching this week, when introducing a group to the delights and techniques of working with sinamay. Many friends and fellow milliners know that its not my material of choice but I fully accept its versatility and possibilities, it doesn't have to look like everyone else' race hat in the 90's with a large self coloured bow!

image courtesy of madeinchina.com

I had begun gently anticipating the response from certain members of the group as the material does come with its own set of preconceptions. So soft or unstiffened sinamay, my sinamay of choice thanks to the wonderful teaching of Waltraud Reiner in 2005 at Zandra Rhodes museum London, which in the many years I have been teaching hasn't had a bad response. Always a first time for everything as they say.

student work 2008

My enthusiasms didn't quite engage all the group, which can leave one perplexed, but then a challenge is always good, it makes one rethink how you teach and one's own interpretation of the material. Sinamay has its failings and yet if it is seen purely as a material in the way of esparterie or Paris net or to experiment with shape and form then its flexibility and weightlessness make it an exciting proposition. So we shall see how next week's lesson goes. Interesting to find out others' perceptions of sinamay are. Is it a marmite material?

Philip Treacy Gondola Sinamay hat

Mr Treacy's Feather Salad

Visiting the new exhibition at Hat Works, Stockport this week, 'The Finishing Touch', all about the many varieties of trimmings available to milliners from feathers to plastics, I really enjoyed watching the SHOWstudio films of Mr Treacy and Mr Jones. Watching the mastery of Philip Treacy is a joy, though quite jealous when he nonchalantly steams some esparterie around a block and elegantly sews tip to band. The work is beautiful, using tongues to curve feathers just so and the placement afterwards.

screen grab from SHOWstudio film-Philip in red

Cutting and shaping feathers

Attaching feathers to silk and esparterie

Gorgeous curled feathers

So a trip to the exhibition will let you see the finished piece and much much more as there is some stunning headwear on show or a visit to the web site of SHOWstudio to view the clips or grab that Stephen Jones downloadable pattern.

Stephen Jones and one of his hats

The joy of watching Mr Jones and his humour can't be missed either as he creates a blue peter-esque flower arrangement whilst drinking a bloody Mary, pure brilliance.