
Seit geraumer Zeit hege ich den Wunsch (mehr) Hüte zu tragen und mein Interesse dafür wächst stetig. So war es wohl Schicksal, dass mich ein Bekannter aus Neuseeland auf seine Cousine verwies. Suzie Smith ist eine in London lebende Hutmacherin. Und was für eine! Nicht umsonst gewann sie mit einem ihrer Hüte bereits einen Preis und so ließ ich mich nicht zwei mal bitten, nahm sofort Kontakt mit ihr auf und bat um ein Interview (bei Bedarf Übersetzer-Tool in der Sidebar benutzen):
Suzie, what did you do before you started designing hats?
After studying film and television at university I started a career in TV and was lucky enough to fall into some costume roles for a series of films. I did this for a couple of years eventually having to take a full time job in order to pay the rent.
How did your interest for hats arise?
I’ve always been interested in costume and vintage clothing and in particular accessories. The rich detail found in a beautiful handbag or vintage hair slide never fails to captivate me. My love of hats started when I took a job at a vintage clothing store, which had a beautiful range of vintage 1950’s Chanel hats. For me hats are a link back to a sophisticated time in fashions history when an outfit wasn’t complete without a hat or headpiece, vintage hats resonate another worldliness that I find captivating and romantic. It may seem a little over the top but for me more than any other piece of fashion the hat is the most interesting. I started collecting vintage hats, buying them by the box load on eBay and eventually I decided I would like to start making my own.
How did you realise that?
I started a course with Jane Smith a theatrical milliner, at first I was interested in making reproductions of vintage styles but I started to become more interested in contemporary designers and my own ideas. I took a year long course at Kensington and Chelsea College were I was taught couture techniques and my work really started to evolve. For my final collection I began researching tribal headdresses from all over Africa. The original pieces were so spectacular I wanted to take elements from each and blend them with other styles. I became interested in mixing natural materials such as feather and quill with hard plastics to create a magpie effect of different textures and finishes.

What inspires you?
I gather inspiration from everywhere for my hats, film is one very important resource. In old movies you can find a wealth of fabulous behatted ladies, George Cukor’s 1939 film "The Women" is one of my favourites, in particular for the pointy hat inspired by Schiaparelli’s (another of my inspirations) designs. It is my greatest wish to see the little pointy hat drop its witchy connotations and become fabulously fashionable. I’ll keep making them till this happens. Another film for wonderful hats is Michael Sarnes’s 1970 film "Myron Breckinridge", a very strange film but some killer headwear.

(Elsa Schiaparelli)
Are you actually working on something special? I’m currently working on a summer 2010 collection which should hopefully be ready by early next year. In the meantime I have created a collection of simple cocktail hats inspired by the Christmas part season. For this I have chosen simple vintage styles and lots of bright colours.

What next?
In the future I would like to work more with plastics and non-traditional millinery methods, and, as I mentioned earlier, continue to champion the pointy little hat.
Ich bin sehr gespannt auf neue aufregende Hüte und werde ihren Werdegang garantiert regelmäßig verfolgen! Falls ich nun auch euer Interesse für Hüte geweckt habe und ihr sogar einen haben möchtet, kein Problem, Suzie nimmt gerne Aufträge entgegen. Die Preise starten bei £100 und steigen je nach Hutart, Material und Arbeitsaufwand aufwärts. Für ein extra angefertigtes Unikat absolut gerechtfertigt. So ergriff auch ich schnell die Gelegenheit und bat Suzie einen Hut für mich zu kreieren! Er ist gestern angekommen und ist zum niederknien! Ein Hut, den es bisher nur ein mal auf der ganzen Welt gibt! Fotos folgen.
Pictures via www.suziesmithmillinery.co.uk; www.harpersbazaar.com