The Challenge

We have been asked by Bankfield Museum to use a range of their collection of hats from 1860 to 1960 as inspiration to create new pieces or look at ways to re-create pieces from the past. The hats need to be completed by October 25th and the exhibition opens in the first week of November 2010 for two months. The exhibition has resulted from an earlier collaboration with the museum with City & Guilds students where all the hast exhibited were the groups own hats, this time there will be the mix of the archive inspiration and the exciting new creations, all in the name of showing the wonders of Bankfield and the fantastical art of millinery.

1960's pink bomb!

The last but not least hat was the vibrant pink crin hat from the 1960's. Bankfield Museum has a collection of stunning 1960's from flowers to flounces!

1950 Dora Hartley hat

This wondrous 1950's hat was made in Halifax in the 1950's with a mix of silk velvet and braid straw.

1925 Cloche

Another of my favourite hats. Black plush cut and sew with embellishment using braid, grosgrain and chain stitch.

1930 feather band

Aigrette feathers on a band.

1930-1940 Black Felt Twist

This hat looks deceptively simple as many in the 1930's did.

1935 Burgundy Beret

One of my favourite Bankfield hats, the ingenuity of this hat is the pattern pieces that create this unusual form of beret. the stitching on the top looks as if it has been done on a Cornelli machine.