Headspace

Celebrated milliner Stephen Jones reflects on his most memorable designs in a new book on the history of hat‑making at the house of Christian Dior

- Rosana Lai

Be it Princess Diana’s delicate fascinators or the towering feather crowns seen in Jean Paul Gaultier’s runway shows, many of the most fantastic hats created over the last several decades have one thing in common: they were made by a bald-headed man with a slanted grin, most often seen sporting a curiously askew hat and always with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. This month, British master milliner Stephen Jones celebrates the launch of a 240-page book, Dior Hats: From Stephen Jones to Christian Dior, published by Rizzoli, which documents his work for the house of Christian Dior alongside designs by Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferré and Christian Dior himself. With photographs by Sølve Sundsbø and text from fashion critics and historians, the book is a testament to Jones’ legacy and his ability to modernise an age-old accessory over the decades.

“When I was growing up in the Sixties, I had no idea what I wanted to do,” says the 63-year-old designer. “I wanted to be an astronaut—that was every little boy’s dream back then. I just didn’t want to be an engineer like my father. In the end, I realised: I am an engineer.”