My hat was inspired by a sketch from milliner Svend, design #834.
I am excited to have one of my hats featured as part of Drawing Inspiration; A Modern Take on Millinery Sketches from the Bergdorf Goodman Archives, a new exhibit by the Milliners Guild opening on Saturday, November 7th in Dallas, Texas.
The exhibit focuses on a cache of over 60 hat sketches from couture designers including, Christian Dior, Cristobal Balenciaga, Pierre Balmain, Jeanne Lanvin, Hubert de Givenchy and Madame Paulette which were recently discovered in the archives of the Dallas Public Library.
The drawings had been used by the Bergdorf’s custom millinery salon to reproduce licensed copies of the European designers hats for their American clientèle.
The hand-drawn sketches were part of a donation made by Bergdorf Goodman in the 2010’s after its merger with Neiman Marcus.
The exhibit is free and open to the public. It will run through December 31, 2026 at the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library.
Members of the Milliners Guild were invited to choose a sketch from the archive to use as inspiration for a modern, original design. The result is over 30 hats created by 21st century milliners that have a nod to couture designers of the past. You can see a gallery of all of the hats as well as the sketches that inspired them here.
If you happen to be in Dallas or the surrounding area and would like to attend the opening reception on Saturday, November 7th from 1:00pm to 3:00pm, you can RSVP here.
For my hat, I chose a sketch #834 by the Danish designer Svend. I was inspired by the mask like veil that slips through the hat, tying at the back in a fabulous little bow. A glamorous moment for evening wear that is also quite practical in that it would allow the wearer to remove the veil and have a classic pillbox which could be worn everyday with a tailored suit. A millinery silhouette that has both form and function, a nod to everything I adore about Danish design.
Scroll through the gallery below to see the original sketch as well as my modern take on the hat.
