TIME MAGAZINE CALLS HAT MAKER ALBERTUS SWANEPOEL THE NEW MAN ON THE BLOCK

Style.com calls him “New York’s Main Milliner,” so let’s take a look at what this hatter has been up to. He’s the man who made Equestrian riding caps for Proenza Schouler’s runway show, as well as Betsy Johnson, Thakoon and Marc by Marc Jacobs.

Based in Washington Heights, Swanepoel is from Pretoria, South Africa, where he was a Coty Award-winning clothing designer. He moved to New York in 1989 and started making gloves. He started making hats because "We realized we needed something to sell in the summer," Swanepoel says.

He took night classes at FIT, and was mentored by Janine Galimard, a milliner who worked with Cristobal Balenciaga in Paris and Tatiana du Plessix Liberman at Saks Fifth Avenue. Swanepoel said he “finds the right shape, as a draper would do for a designer….Materializing their ideas." He created the turbans for Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez for their Spring 2005 surf-inspired show.

For fall he made Jacobs’ furry hoods and draped berets—as well as head bands. Swanepoel designs the Albertus line of men's hats - available at Paul Smith, Bergdorf Goodman, and Odin. His best seller is a porkpie topper.

"Hats," said Swanepoel, "are like sunglasses. They detract and attract attention at the same time." The hat pro made 36 beaver felt 20’s inspired cloches in three days for Proenza Schouler's recent show. "My record is 55 hours working on a headpiece for Maggie Norris," Swanpoel said.

The best way to wear a hat - Swanepoel said - "is with wit," adding that he generally applies a rule of opposites when selecting headwear. A woman with a round face, for example, should wear a square hat; one with a long face, a wide brim.

Style.com