I started as a Milliner in 1996 with The Queen's former Milliner, Philip Somerville. I then landed a job with leading light of the Millinery world Philip Treacy, training and working in the London studio and assisting at Haute Couture shows in London,Paris, and New York. I added to my experience by working as a Theatrical Milliner at Angels, the Costumiers and undertaking freelance work at The English National Opera on Antony Minghella's Madam Butterfly. Other freelance work has included commissions for The Mirror Newspaper for Ascot and with other
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I am currently completing an MA in Historical Costume at The Arts Institute, Bournemouth - Here is some of the work I have made since I started the course in September 2022.
Mini Mannequin - Hat and Dress.
In connection with The Salisbury Museums project Fashioning Our World. “This exhibition will tell the stories of clothes and accessories from the past that have been repurposed, mended, altered and looked after. It asks whether this can inspire us to think differently about sustainable fashion in the future.” (https://salisburymuseum.org.uk/whats-on/fashioning-our-world-unpicking-the-past-to-thread-together-our-future/. 2024).
Strategies for Practice Unit - 1920s cloche hat.
In this first unit I was introduced to the process of completing a dress observation. I chose a 1920s flapper dress from the Costume Archives at AUB (The Arts University, Bournemouth). For my body of individual work I looked to my skills as a Milliner to create a 1920s cloche using part of an original 1920s pattern to create. I utilised these skills alongside textile processes (Screen printing, machine embroidery and hand beading), that I wanted to revisit and develop further.
I created a hand drawn floral design to compliment the woven design of the dress fabric and used this to create the stencil for screen printing.
I wanted to use reclaimed materials to make this piece and sourced everything from my own stock and collection of vintage trimmings.
This hat was an inspired and imagined recreation of what the hat might have looked like should the wearer of the dress
The Master’s Project 1: Full Size Hat inspired by a 1920s blouse from The Salisbury Museum archives.
I designed and made this hat after observing a beautiful printed 1920s floral and parrot printed fabric blouse on a visit to the archives at The Salisbury Museum.
During my time on my course I researched The Bloomsbury Group and took a visit to Charleston Farmhouse in Firle, Lewes where some of the key figures of the group lived and worked. Painters Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant created a modernist home, each part of the house is painted or decorated with their work.
Fusing both of these influences together I created a second full scale hat creating my own fabric using specialist non toxic inks.