Designer Profile: Stephen Jones

On November 25th 2008 at the British Fashion Awards avant-garde milliner Stephen Jones picked up the Award for Outstanding Achievement in Fashion Design. Jones has come a long way from his Cheshire roots. The finest milliner of his generation, he is cited by Anna Piaggi of Italian Vogue as “the maker of most beautiful hats in the world” and by Hamish Bowles, Vogue USA, as “a deft conjurer who can draw whimsy from a hat… His genius is to enhance the mystery, allure and wit of the wearer”

Jones exploded onto the London fashion scene in the late seventies – by day a student at the prestigious Central St. Martins School of Art, by night frequenting the legendary Blitz club in Covent Garden with contemporaries John Galliano, Isabella Blow, Princess Julia, Boy George, Steve Strange, and Spandau Ballet. His captivating, witty, exquisitely crafted millinery earned him commissions from Visage and Spandau Ballet – his designs helping to define the fashion of the New Romantic movement.

By 1980 Jones had opened his first salon in Covent Garden, designing hats for Jasper Conran and Zandra Rhodes and attracting a diverse clientele from Diana, Princess of Wales to Mick Jagger. Since then he has collaborated with some of most influential designers of the last 28 years, his creations gracing the runway in London for Giles, Hardy Amies and Basso & Brooke; in New York for Marc Jacobs; Tokyo for Comme des Garcons; and most famously in Paris for John Galliano, followed soon after by his appointment to Dior in 1996.

In recent years ‘the hat’ has enjoyed a revival in popular culture, and Jones’ designs have been sported by celebrities such as burlesque icon Dita Von Teese, Nicole Kidman, Christina Aquilera in her 50s siren incarnation, Madonna, Roisin Murphy and Kylie Minogue for her ‘Showgirl’ tour - as well as industry leaders Suzy Menkes, Anna Piaggi and John Galliano himself. He has also branched into the world of film – designing hats for Keira Knightley in ‘Atonement’ and Cate Blanchett in ‘Elizabeth, The Golden Age’, for which Alexandra Byrne won the Oscar for Best Costume Design; and for the ballet ‘Le Défilé’ with Jean Paul Gaultier.

For the last two years he has been working on his forthcoming exhibition (24th February 2009-10th May 2009) at the V & A entitled ‘Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones’, a display of more than 300 hats chosen by the milliner – everything from an Egyptian Anubis mask dating from 600BC to Queen Victoria’s bonnet, a 1950s Balenciaga, Marlene Dietrich’s beret and couture creations by Jones and his peers.

Deservedly his brilliant and varied career was honoured at the British Fashion Awards. As Hilary Riva of the BFC commented, “The Outstanding Achievement Award celebrates the exceptional talent of an individual who has contributed to the British fashion industry both internationally, and here in the UK throughout their career. Stephen’s extraordinary work has encompassed the worlds of fashion, music, and film. He is a true original whose work is as relevant today as it was when he designed his first collection in 1979. Despite working regularly with the biggest names on the international catwalk he finds time to nurture and collaborate with emerging talent, sharing his skill and creativity.”

Words: Hannah Kane

www.stephenjonesmillinery.com