I just LOVE discovering new designers and brands, and today, I'd like to introduce you one of my recent finds – all thanks to the May edition of BBC Homes & Antiques Magazine, who ran a special feature on Vintage Weddings.
Pip Hackett is a London based Milliner who has been designing hats now for 15 years. I got chatting with this fabulous lady recently (and let me tell you, Pip is so much fun! …so passionate about what she does and so enthusiastic about her exquisite designs)…
"I started making my own hats and exhibiting
them in art galleries while I was a photographer and after the press
picked up on my work I decided I had a natural talent and applied for a
masters degree at the Royal College of Art, to really learn and
understand more about the wonderful craft of millinery. I set my
business up the day after leaving the RCA and have never looked back. I
have always loved dressing up in vintage clothing and my hats are an
extension of my personality.
I love all things
beautiful ~ I adore clothing and I have closets and
closets full of fabulous vintage frocks dating from Victorian to 1920's. The 1940s and 1950s periods are my favourite. I often buy a gorgeous dress and then
design a hat to go with it for a special occasion and then it becomes
part of my collection. I always ALWAYS wear my own hats to really
understand how comfortable and practical they are. I love to get
feedback. I feel it is so important on my design process."
Love My Dress Wedding Blog ~ All Imagery Copyright Zodie Hawkins, kindly supplied by Pip Hackett
Can you describe your signature style?…"Anything glamorous!!!"
What inspires you when designing?…"Everything!! I go through phases it could be an old magazine, a book of fiction that im reading. A piece of lace found in a car boot sale. A flower. But so often its a dress!!!!"
Do you see any trends emerging for 2010?…"Hats are always in fashion as far as Im concerned! I make things of beauty that are treasured for a lifetime I don't follow trends, but I seem to be always in fashion…..!"
Do you design bespoke AND off-the-peg/ready-to-wear?…"Yes I design Couture and I have a Diffusion line under my label Pip Hackett at the Designers at Debenhams range."
Do you have a design muse?…"I am my design muse." {that's Pip below and also in the image further down holding one of her own creations}…
Can you provide a price guide?…"Prices vary of
course its kind of impossible to say but my Diffusion line costs as
little as £35 and my couture can be up to £800."
Can you describe the Pip Hackett experience – what can a client expect?..."Lots of fun!!! I often give lots of styling advice and tip s on hair and shoes. I have an elegant sense of style that comes from my love of photography and clothing that people seem to love to emulate. It comes naturally to me I have made my own clothes since 14 and been obsessed with dressing up since then I still fit into the early vintage pieces I had at 18 and my mothers 50's dress collection!!!!"
Where do you stock? Where can clients
purchase your products?…"They would need to come to
visit me as I have become very exclusive and no longer sell to stores
anymore. Everything I produce now is privately commissioned or produced
by my Diffusion line at Debenhams."
Are you exhibiting anywhere in the next 6-12 months?…"My next exhibition is on 5 6 June at Open Studios Great Western Studios. I will be showcasing a millinery collection of Hats that I was commissioned to make in QATAR in the Middle East and showing an hour long documentary film of the inspirations behind the collection."
How exciting! And goodness gracious, how gorgeous is all this?!
For further details, please visit the Pip Hackett website, email [email protected] or telephone 020 72664667.
Thanks a million Pip for chatting to Love My Dress – we look forward to featuring you regularly in the future and learning more about your beautiful Bridal designs 🙂
♥
Annabel View all Annabel's articles
Founder of Love My Dress. Passionate Podcaster and Editor. Annabel lives in rural North Yorkshire with her husband and business partner Philip, their two daughters and menagerie of furry hounds. She loves photography, meditation, walking, being outdoors and star gazing. She is fierce when it comes to championing talent within the wedding industry and when she's not working on Love My Dress, she supports her husband Philip in the running of the family's sustainable flower farm and floral design business, Moonwind Flowers. In 2013, she became a published author.
