Where did you get that hat?

I have always had a "thing" for hats - whether those of Schiaparelli or Cecil Beaton, Philip Treacy or Mitza Bricard for Dior. Among my greatest style icons are people who can really wear hats - George Melly, Audrey Hepburn, Gloria Swanson, Molly Parkin, Grace Jones, Greta Garbo, Isabella Blow. So it was no surprise, really, that we had to go and see the exhibition Hats - an Anthology at the V&A before it closes tomorrow.

It was a sumptuous extravaganza - so many beautiful and bizarre creations I just wanted to try on!

Influenced by Cecil Beaton's 1971 V&A show Fashion - an Anthology and including 300 examples of millinery and its inspirations throughout history - from an Egyptian Anubis mask dating from 600 BC, a Coptic Fez (ca. 1100), a Tudor knitted beret and a silk and straw bonnet dating from 1807, to the most unusual creations of today - it was collated and artistically inspired by the wunderkind milliner to the stars Stephen Jones.



Born in 1957, Stephen graduated from London's St Martin's School of Art in 1979 and began to make hats for friends - just at the right time for the post-punk Futurist/New Romantic dressing-up world that heralded the early 80s.

At around that time he lived in a squat with Boy George, among others - and as the only squatter with a car, he used to drive the Boy around to the Blitz Club and other arty nights where they would parade their latest outrageous sartorial creations.

As his designs became wildly in demand amongst the uber-hip (Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Steve Strange) within a year of graduating he had his own shop in Covent Garden. Things really took off when Jean-Paul Gaultier saw George wearing one of Stephen's designs in the video for Do You Really Want To Hurt Me? and invited him to design the hats for his latest Paris show.

He went on to acquire the greatest accolade of the age when Princess Diana commissioned him to design for her, and his fame was assured - over the years he has worked with Vivienne Westwood, Claude Montana, Comme des Garcons, Marc Jacobs, Thierry Mugler and John Galliano, and his surreal creations have been worn by just about everyone including the Rolling Stones, Madonna, Marilyn Manson, Pink, Gwen Stefani, Alison Goldfrapp, Beyonce Knowles and Dita Von Teese.

Even renowned contemporary and rival surrealist milliner Philip Treacy learned his trade on work placement with Stephen Jones...

A genius - and a brilliant exhibition!

Hats - an Anthology

Stephen Jones Millinery