Hats are back. And, one of the reasons why is the incredibly talented Albertus Swanepoel. Born and raised in South Africa, Swanepoel trained as a milliner under Janine Galimard, who worked for Balenciaga in Paris in the 1950's and 60's. After working as an assistant to Lola and then Lynne Mackey {creating hats for Broadway shows}, he briefly had a stint as a Style Editor at Martha Stewart Weddings. In 2004, Albertus began his brilliant collaborations with New York designers, including: Marc Jacobs, Proenza Schouler, Thakoon, Carolina Herrera, Peter Som, Diane Von Furstenberg, Jason Wu, and many others. His label {namesake Albertus Swanepoel} sells to top retailers like Barneys, Paul Smith, and Louis Boston. In 2009, he was nominated for a Swarovski CFDA Accessory Award.
I spent some time on 1stdibs today to see if I could find some vintage hats from the 60's that might inspire Albertus Swanepoel. I think I may have found a few!
1st Dibs ~ left to right: YSL Jockey hat, Patchwork Felt Mosaic hat, Tri-Color Jockey hat
I have not given hats a fair shake, as I wear glasses and generally a hat adds too much busy-ness. But I just don't think I've experimented enough. I've never tried super-mod styles (and certainly not the super-mod colors) like your bottom three examples but I prob. should!
ReplyDeleteI think the vintage Tri-color Jockey is SO great!!
ReplyDeleteWOW! I love all of these beautiful hats! Great blog!
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