| GENIUS HATTER
PHILIP TREACY HAS A HAT SHOWING AT HONG KONG’S
ELEMENTS MALL
We found this wonderful article about the exhibit
and wanted to share it with you. Treacy has taken
hat lore further into the wild than any other
hatter. I remember attending his first New York
City (7th on Sixth it was called at the time)
runway show at 11pm at night and thinking, “this
is weird stuff.” But that was then and this
is now.
The upshot is that Treacy has captured the heads
– and the imagination – of celebrities
and hat lovers all over the world. This exhibit
sounds wonderful, and if you have the good fortune
to attend, please let us know what you thought
about it.
Hats off to Philip Treacy
Intending to add extra chi into chic, the feng
shui-inspired Elements shopping mall located in
the new West Kowloon development unveils a world
exclusive — an exhibition of hats by Philip
Treacy.
It goes without saying that this is a true meeting
of fashion minds — Elements being one of
Hong Kong’s hottest fashion destinations,
and hat maker Treacy being one of the fashion
industry’s hottest talents.
“Fashion is more than just clothes. It’s
about creating moods and feelings, not just making
clothes,” Treacy once said in an interview.
The designer was a close friend of former Vogue
fashion editor and later, Tatler’s fashion
director, Isabella Blow, who discovered the talented
Irish lad (as well as supermodels Sophie Dahl
and Stella Tennant and fashion designer Hussein
Chalayan) when she commissioned him to design
a hat for her wedding to architect Detmar Blow.
She later became Treacy’s muse and strongest
ally.
Milliner, Philip Treacy.
Over the years, Treacy, the former protégé
of world renowned milliner Stephen Jones, has
collaborated with Versace, Valentino, Chanel,
Donna Karan and Ralph Lauren.
As five-time winner of the British Fashion Council’s
British Accessory Designer of the Year award,
he has no equal.
His is an A-list clientele comprising the likes
of Madonna, Victoria Beckham, Sarah Jessica Parker,
as well as Hong Kong pop icons Sandy Lam and Faye
Wong.
At Elements, his works are displayed in conjunction
with the mall’s second anniversary.
The Metal Zone features a hat installation that
measures over 5m in height and 10m in diameter
replete with a specially constructed catwalk screening
fashion videos.
The Venetian Lace Wing hat
worn by Isabella Blow
While at the Fire Zone, a medley of “musical”
chairs created as replicas of Treacy’s designs
is the main attention drawer. Created to resemble
both a giant hat and the environs of a 1970s hair
salon, the installation cleverly marries fashion
and popular culture.
The exhibition, known as “Hats off to
Elements”, showcases 35 of Treacy’s
most defining — and thought-provoking designs,
and even gives a glimpse into the creative process
in the form of his personal drawings and sketches.
Blow’s influence on the designer’s
work is evident throughout.
Her tragic suicide in 2007 adds a poignant element
to the display, highlighting the enduring emotional
and creative connections between two luminaries
of the fashion world, an industry infamous for
its transient nature and insatiable hunger for
the next big thing.
A highlight of the collection is the Venetian
Lace Wing Hat, which Treacy likens to a display
of pure magic.
“The veil of this hat is such a difficult
thing to wear, but Isabella (Blow) could carry
it so well and make it look so unpretentious.
I love the way she wore this hat. You almost don’t
notice it, because she made it look like a natural
extension of herself. And to her, going out in
this hat was just the most natural thing in the
world,” he stated.
Blow, who suffered from bipolar disorder, was
famous for donning Treacy’s creations as
they made her feel beautiful.
Treacy’s Warhol collection, on the other
hand, took inspiration from the legendary artist’s
Pop Art treatment of subject matter as varied
as a portrait of Marilyn Monroe, to the Campbell
soup can, to a pair of seductive red lips.
The collection is a brilliant reinterpretation
of hats and headwear much favoured by the fashion
world’s movers and shakers, including model
Eva Herzigova and singer Bebel Gilberto.
Hailing from a small village in the west of
Ireland, Treacy has come a long way indeed.
“As a child, I loved to watch the weddings.
They were the equivalent of fashion shows to me.
The dresses that people wore — I couldn’t
believe them. They were incredible. It seemed
so glamorous to see these creatures appear in
these extraordinary clothes, as we didn’t
have much glamour where I come from,” he
remarked.
The same can be said for his iconic hats, which
have travelled halfway round the world to Elements.
The “Hats Off to Elements” exhibition
is on now.
ELEMENTS
1 Austin Road West
Tsim Sha Tsui
Kowlopn, Hong Kong
www.elementshk.com
By MARK LEAN
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