#hat makers

Chanel The making of a collection

Interview with Karl Lagerfekd

Text by Laetitia Cénac

Illustrations by Jean-Philippe Delhomme

Harry Abrams, New York 2019, 239 pages ISBN 9781419740084

euro 39,50

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A gorgeously illustrated exploration of the history, culture, and design process of the famed fashion house Chanel

Chanel: The Making of a Collection traces the design process of the world-renowned fashion house, revealing how a collection is created. Moving from the studio to the fashion show, fashion writer Laetitia Cénac has unprecedented access to explore a world that is usually carefully guarded from the public eye. With hundreds of beautifully rendered fashion illustrations from acclaimed artist Jean-Philippe Delhomme, Karl Lagerfeld’s approach to design is brought to life, as are the talents of the masterfully skilled artisans—the embroiderers, flower makers, shoemakers, hat makers, and more—who specialize in everything from buttons and leather to lace, silk, and cashmere. Delving into the history and culture of the brand, while also detailing contemporary collections, Chanel: The Making of a Collection is a richly visual insider’s look at the enduring creative legacy of this haute couture icon.

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LLAPALLAPANI, BOLIVIA 5/4/2016. David Alejo Valero, 6, with hay for hat making. Many of the town’s people lost their livelihoods when a nearby lake disappeared, done in by the warming effects of climate change. - photo by Josh Haner / The New York Times, from “The Year In Pictures 2016″ (The New York Times)

@jeffreyscales​ - Thanks for posting a link to the New York Times great photo collection, “The Year In Pictures, 2016”

we've now had two entirely unrelated milliners go partway through the process of us ordering a green tricorne hat from them and seem friendly and enthusiastic about it (even after we carefully disclosed our transness to each, so that nobody got any surprises) and then just suddenly ghost us forever - it's possible the first one was a health thing, but the other?

The California Millinery Supply Co., located at 721 S. Spring St. in downtown Los Angeles’ Fashion District, sells hat-making supplies and accessories. For decades, film, television and theater productions, fashion designers and craftspeople have purchased hat frames, feathers, ribbons and veiling to make period headwear as well as new styles.

Irene Arroyo, the company’s owner, estimated that her sales have declined 90 percent from 2020 and 2019. Film and television productions, which made up a significant part of her business, shut down during the pandemic,.

She received a Small Business Administration Economic Injury Disaster Loan/EIDL to help the business get through the pandemic, but she said that once the money is spent she’ll have to liquidate her business if it is not sold. She has not formally put up for sale the 3,500-square-foot location in the Van Nuys Annex building, which includes retail space as well as a studio where Arroyo manufactures hat frames.

However, a unique business requires a unique owner, Arroyo said. “It’s such a niche. It takes someone who knows about all the intricacies of vintage goods, vintage period work, millinery and costumes.” She has owned and run the business since 1982 after working as a costume designer and earning a master of fine arts degree in theater from the University of Southern California.

Sales at her shop typically range from $10 for an order of an individual hat frame and some fabric to hundreds of dollars for orders from costume departments at film and television studios.

Hussey Hatters

Walter Zellmer and Joseph Moses probably didn’t plan to own a hat shop. While in high school at Minneapolis Central and De La Salle, respectively, they started working part-time at Hussey Hatters in 1924. The shop offered hat cleaning and restoration services, along with retail sales of ready-made and custom hats. John A. Hussey founded the business in 1904 in downtown Minneapolis.

Zellmer and Moses helped with hat deliveries and general tasks. Eventually, they learned the detailed technical skills to clean, sew, block and trim hats, along with the design and production of custom hats. They earned the job title of “hatter.” Along the way, Zellmer graduated from MacPhail School of Music, but decided to stay in the hat business and played piano as a sideline.

By 1949, Zellmer and Moses succeeded John A. Hussey as owners and maintained the high standards that Hussey had insisted on. Zellmer told a Minneapolis Star reporter that Hussey Hatters charged the highest prices in town, but the customers kept coming back. Prices for cleaning and blocking hats in 1982 were: $15 for western hats, $10.50 for regular hats, and $7.50 for women’s hats. In 1983, Hussey Hatters was listed for the last time in the City Directory. Zellmer and Moses, then in their mid-70s, were ready for retirement.

"Hat-maker Behida Dolić (http://yellowfield7.etsy.com) shares a glimpse of her creative process in this video look book."