Hatmaking
Hat-makingormillineryis thedesign,manufacture and sale ofhatsand other headwear.[1]A person engaged in this trade is called amillinerorhatter.
Historically, milliners made and sold a range of accessories for clothing and hairstyles.[2]In France, milliners are known asmarchand(e)s de modes(fashion merchants), rather than being specifically associated with hat-making. In Britain, however, milliners were known to specialise in hats by the beginning of the Victorian period.[3]
The millinery industry benefited from industrialization during the nineteenth century.[4]In 1889 in London and Paris, over 8,000 women were employed in millinery, and in 1900 in New York, some 83,000 people, mostly women, were employed in millinery. Though the improvements in technology provided benefits to milliners and the whole industry, essential skills, craftsmanship, and creativity are still required. Since hats began to be mass-manufactured and sold as ready-to-wear indepartment stores,the term "milliner" is usually used to describe a person who applies traditional hand-craftsmanship to design, make, sell or trim hats primarily for a mostly female clientele.
Many prominentfashion designers,includingRose Bertin,Jeanne Lanvin,andCoco Chanel,began as milliners.
Origin
[edit]The term "milliner" or "Milener" originally meant someone fromMilan,in northern Italy, in the early 16th century. It referred to Milanese merchants who sold fancy bonnets, gloves, jewellery and cutlery. In the 16th to 18th centuries, the meaning of "milliner" gradually changed in meaning from "a foreign merchant" to "a dealer in small articles relating to dress". Although the term originally applied to men, from 1713 "milliner" gradually came to mean a woman who makes and sellsbonnetsand other accessories for women.[5][6]
Learning of millinery
[edit]Milliners work independently based on job order specifications or their designs, observing the regulations regarding work safety, health protection, environmental protection, and ensuring quality and efficiency. They combine their uniqueness, innovation, and technical skills and use different materials and auxiliary materials. In some cases, they plan and organize their schedules in cooperation with their customers' various needs. They also collaborate with the team or the apprentice to the presentation and sale of the products.[7]
The millinery industry's apprenticeship culture is commonly seen since the 18th century, while milliner was more like a stylist and created hats or bonnets to go with costumes and chose the laces, trims, and accessories to complete an ensemble piece. Millinery apprentices learned hat-making and styling, running the business, and skills to communicate with customers.[8]Nowadays, this apprenticeship is still a standard process for the students who freshly graduated from the millinery schools. Many well-known milliners experienced this stage. For example,Rose Bertinwas an apprentice to a successful fashion merchant Mademoiselle Pagelle before her success.
There are many renowned millinery schools located in Europe, especially in London, Paris, and Italy. DuringCOVID-19,many millinery courses were taught virtually.[9]
Special tools and materials used by milliners
[edit]A woodenhat blockis an intricately carved wood form shaped by skillful woodworkers. Hat blocks are the tools of the trade for milliners in creating a unique hat crown shape. Some of the hat blocks are ensembles with crown and brimmed, while some are only with crown or brim or designed forfascinators.Milliners always have an extensive collection of different hat blocks because there are specific hat sizes and custom shapes for every hat block. In the blocking process of a hat, milliners used push pins and a hammer to hold the adjustable string along the crown's collar and the brim's edge.[10]
A floral-making iron is a unique iron used by milliners to create different floral petals or leaves as theornamentfor hat decoration. In the past, candles were used to heat these irons with various shapes of metal in one set. Nowadays, these irons are electric. A ball-shaped metal heading is commonly used for the curve of floral pastels.[11]
Milliners often usebuckram,a stiff cotton (occasionally linen or horse hair) cloth with a loose weave. Millinery buckram is impregnated with a starch which allows it to be softened in water, pulled over ahat block,and left to dry into a hard shape.[12]Millinery buckram comes in many weights, including lightweight or baby buckram (often used for children's and dolls' hats),[13]single-ply buckram, and double buckram (also known astheatrical buckramorcrown buckram).[14]
Notable hatters and milliners
[edit]This is a partial list of people who have had a significant influence on hat-making and millinery.
Hatters
[edit]- International Hat Company,an American manufacturer credited with inventing one of America's most popular early 20th century harvest hats for field hands, farmers, and workmen.
- Hawley Products Company,an American manufacturer credited with inventing the tropical shaped, pressed fiber sun helmet used fromWorld War IIthrough thePersian Gulf War.
- John Cavanagh,an American hatter whose innovations included manufacturing regular, long and wide-oval fitting hats to enable customers to find better-fitting ready-to-wear hats.
- James Lock & Co.of London (founded 1676), is credited with the introduction of thebowler hatin 1849.[15]
- JJ Hat Centerin New York (founded 1911) an American hat maker, which claims to be New York City's oldest hat store.[16]
- Teofilo Garcia,recognized as aNational Living Treasurein thePhilippinesfor pioneering thetabungawhat, a headwear made fromgourd.[17]
- John Batterson Stetson,credited with inventing the classiccowboy hat[18]
- Giuseppe Borsalino,with the famous "Borsalino"Fedorahat.
Milliners
[edit]- Vanilla Beanewas an American milliner inWashington, D.C.who served theAfrican Americancommunity and notablecivil rights activists,among others.
- Akio Hirata is the most influential milliner in Japan who collaborated with many famous Japanese fashion designers, includingYohji YamamotoandRei Kawakubo.He also created and designed hats for JapaneseEmpress Michikosince 1966.[19]
- Anna Ben-YusufwroteThe Art of Millinery(1909), one of the first reference books on millinery technique.[20]
- Rose Bertin,milliner and modiste toMarie Antoinette,is often described as the world's first celebrity fashion designer.[21]
- Coco Chanel,creator of the fashion house Chanel, and ofChanel No.5.
- John Boydwas one of London's most respected milliners and is known for the famous pink tricorn hat worn byDiana, Princess of Wales.[22]
- Lilly Dachéwas a famous American milliner of the mid-20th century.
- Frederick Foxwas an Australian born milliner noted for his designs for the British Royal family.
- Mildred Blountis the first African American milliner to design hats for Hollywood films "Gone with the Wind' and 'The Easter Parade.' Her clientele includedJoan Crawford,Louise Beavers,Marian Anderson,Gloria Vanderbilt,and other Hollywood stars.[23]
- Mr. Johnwas an American milliner considered by some to be the millinery equivalent ofDiorin the 1940s and 1950s.[24]
- Stephen Jonesof London, is considered one of the world's most radical and important milliners of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.[25]
- Simone Mirmanwas known for her designs forElizabeth IIand other members of the British Royal Family.
- Barbara Pauliwas the leading fashion milliner and modiste in Sweden during theGustavian era.
- Caroline Rebouxwas a renowned milliner of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
- David Shillingis a renowned milliner, artist and designer based in Monaco.[26]
- Justin Smithis a milliner creating bespoke and couture hats under the J Smith Esquire brand.
- Philip TreacyIrish-born milliner; first milliner for 80 years to be invited to exhibit at the Paris haute couture shows.[27]
- Gladys Tamezis a Mexican-American milliner notable for her work withBeyoncé,Lady Gaga,Kendall Jenner,among others.
See also
[edit]- Draper
- Haberdasher
- Hat Works
- Mad hatter disease
- Mad as a hatter
- Marchandes de modes
- James Lock & Co.
- Walter Wright Hats
References
[edit]- ^Perry, Lorinda (November 1916). "Millinery as a Trade for Women".Monthly Review of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.3(5): 32–38.JSTOR41823177.
- ^"milliner".Oxford English Dictionary(Online ed.).Oxford University Press.(Subscription orparticipating institution membershiprequired.)- "2. Originally: a seller of fancy wares, accessories, and articles of (female) apparel, esp. such as were originally made in Milan. Subsequently: spec. a person who designs, makes, or sells women's hats."
- ^Adburgham, Alison (1989).Shops and shopping: 1800 - 1914; where, and in what manner the well-dressed Englishwoman bought her clothes(2nd ed.). London: Barrie & Jenkins. p. 27.ISBN978-0-7126-2114-4.
- ^"Straw Millinery".If I Had My Own Blue Box.26 March 2009.Retrieved22 October2020.
- ^"milliner, Origin and meaning of milliner by Online Etymology Dictionary".etymonline.com.Retrieved22 October2020.
The original milliners were men; by 1713 the word was being used of 'a woman who makes and sells bonnets and other headgear for women,' and this was the prevailing sense of the word 19c.
- ^Tréguer, Pascal (12 August 2016)."The word 'milliner' originally meant 'native or inhabitant of Milan'".word histories.Retrieved22 October2020.
- ^"Milliner".American Institute for Innovative Apprenticeship.Retrieved22 October2020.
- ^"Vintage Fashion Guild: Fashion History: History of Hats For Women".vintagefashionguild.org.Retrieved22 October2020.
- ^"Upcoming Events – Millinery CoursesMillinery Courses".Millinery Courses.Retrieved22 October2020.
- ^"The Blocker Shapes and Styles the Hats – Brent Black Panama Hats".brentblack.com.Retrieved22 October2020.
- ^"flower making iron".PresentPerfect Creations | Original hand crafted flower accessories in fine fabrics and genuine leather.Retrieved22 October2020.
- ^Hart, Eric (2013).The Prop Building Guidebook: For Theatre, Film, and TV.Taylor & Francis. p. 292.ISBN9780240821382.
- ^"The Copyist".The Illustrated Milliner.14(7). The Illustrated Milliner Company: 68. July 1913.Retrieved8 October2019.
- ^McMasters, Lynn (1 November 2005)."Buckram 101".Finery.Greater Bay Area Costumers Guild.Retrieved8 October2019.
- ^Bowler hat makes a comebackTelegraph (London). Retrieved 9 June 2012
- ^The City Visible | The HattersNYT (New York). Retrieved 4 August 2023
- ^Tobias, Maricris Jan."GAMABA: Teofilo Garcia".National Commission for Culture and the Arts. Archived fromthe originalon 26 January 2022.Retrieved14 September2021.
- ^Reynolds, William and Rich Rand (1995)The Cowboy Hat book.p. 8ISBN0-87905-656-8
- ^"Akio Hirata – Fashion Designer | Designers | The FMD".The FMD – FashionModelDirectory.com.Retrieved22 October2020.
- ^Jones, Stephen &Cullen, Oriole, ed. (2009).Hats: An Anthology.V&A Publishing.ISBN978-1-85177-557-6.
- ^Steele, Valerie(2010).The Berg Companion to Fashion.Berg. pp. 72–73.ISBN978-1847885920.Retrieved9 June2012.
- ^"John Boyd".The FMD – FashionModelDirectory.com.
- ^"Mildred Blount: First African American to Make Hats for Celebrities".Black Then.7 September 2019.Retrieved22 October2020.
- ^Schiro, Anne-Marie (29 June 1993)."Mr. John, 91, Hat Designer for Stars and Society".The New York Times.
- ^Biography of Stephen Joneson the V&A Museum website, accessed 1 April 2009
- ^Hillier, Bevis(13 October 1985)."Hat Trick".LA Times.Retrieved24 January2013.
- ^Cartner-Morley, Jess (16 April 2002)."Who wants to be a milliner".The Guardian.
He has created hats to accompany the catwalk collections of Alexander McQueen and Valentino, has been named British Accessory Designer of the Year five times, and was the first milliner in 80 years to be invited by French fashion's governing body, the Chambre Syndicale, to take part in the Parisian haute couture shows
External links
[edit]- All Sewn Up: Millinery, Dressmaking, Clothing and Costume
- 18th Century millinery
- Popular Science,November 1941, "Pulling Hats Out Of Rabbits"article on modern mass production hat making
- Individuality in millinery,a 1923 book on hat-making from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online as PDF)
- Millinery guide(UK)
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