Mad Millinery

The Vintage Hat Series: 50s feather hat.

Hats constructed entirely from feathers are completely mad. Not to mention utterly impractical. I am not talking of a bit of sedate marabou trim, or pheasant feather here or there, but a veritable frenzy of feathers. Observe:

Vintage feather hat with matching fan…… modern feather hat with matching fan.

Crazy, right? These hats are for showoffs: exhibitionists who strut their stuff and puff out their plumes; the peacocks of society. But, but … they are so much fun!

So inherently airy and light, feathers are full of life. Plucked out of the natural world and sculpted into fantastic creations by artists, they adorn the heads of human birds of paradise.

And you need to be a little exotic to dare to flutter out of the house in one of these numbers…

(L-R) Designer unknown, Getty Images; Philip Treacy, V&A Images; vintage 60s conical hat.

These hats are for showoffs: exhibitionists who strut their stuff and puff out their plumes…

When feathers are dyed such vivid colours as the pink above, or whimsically transformed into signage (below), it is easy to forget their origin, but they certainly do not look any less wild for that. The natural properties of quills and vanes combine strength and flexibility, as well as a delightful frivolity that must easily capture the imaginations of mad milliners, both past and present. Philip Treacy patently adores them, as did his muse, Isabella Blow.

Mad hats by Philip Treacy and all worn by Isabella Blow.Historically, feathers were not merely a fashionable accessory, but like jewellery an indicator of rank. Juju hats are traditionally worn by village chiefs in the Cameroon region of central Africa, and are made from brightly coloured feathers sewn onto a raffia base. A continent away, feathers again are utilised to signify leadership in Native American tribes, to create headdresses that are both fierce and beautiful.

I want them all, delicious and impractical as they are. There speaks my frivolous, exhibitionist little soul!

Juju hat in vivid pink. Popular with interior designers today as wall hangings.Made from 2000 Ginni feathers, this beautiful hat is traditionally prepared, wrapped, and hand sewn by artist Sunshine Stam, an Apache/Cherokee Elder.