The first hats Stephen Jones made were destined for the dance floor. \u201cThey could only be so big,\u201d the designer\u2014who today is wearing a simple navy beret\u2014recalls, framing his face with his hands. \u201cThey could be vertical, but they couldn\u2019t be too wide, because how the hell do you dance in a big hat?\u201d<\/p>\n
As a \u201cBlitz Kid,\u201d enmeshed in London\u2019s New Romantics scene, Jones was a flower growing between the cracks of Britain\u2019s early-1980s austerity sidewalk. The retro, romantic theatricality of his designs, which he created for his club-habitu\u00e9 friends, could only have emerged out of tough times. \u201cThings in the \u201960s and \u201970s had all been subconsciously about moving forward,\u201d he remembers. \u201cAnd we thought, \u2018Well, maybe moving forward is moving back.\u2019\u201d His towering-but-narrow creations soon caught the eye, and adorned the head, of his then-neighbor Boy George.<\/p>\n
Today, there are no limits, spatial or otherwise, on Jones\u2019s creativity. He has collaborated with designers including John Galliano<\/a>, Jean Paul Gaultier, Thierry Mugler<\/a>, Raf Simons, and Rei Kawakubo, and a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame\u2019s worth of musicians\u2014Beyonc\u00e9<\/a>, Lady Gaga<\/a>, and Rihanna<\/a> among them.<\/p>\n He is often inspired by dreamlike visions that transform into hats: When working with Galliano at Dior, for example, he turned ballet slippers, a painter\u2019s palette, and a Grecian harp into memorable toppers. \u201cAnything can be a hat!\u201d he tells me.<\/p>\n A Jones sketch for John Galliano spring\/summer 2009.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Millinery may be a niche art, but Jones still has the power to move the needle. The bicorne hats he debuted at Dior for spring 2026 became a defining editorial piece, bringing back an unlikely 18th-century silhouette. At Givenchy<\/a> this season, he created satin head wraps that evoked the heroines of Vermeer paintings. When creative director Sarah Burton told him she\u2019d love to work together, \u201cI said, \u2018Yeah, as long as it involves lots of chitchat, a cup of tea, and friendship\u2014and, if we get a chance, to do some hats as well, but it needs to be in that order.\u2019\u201d Burton\u2019s son\u2019s oversize T-shirt, twisted into a head wrap, ended up inspiring the pieces. Jones often works in this improvisatory mode: One of the most famous hats he made\u2014a gold lam\u00e9 turban Kate Moss wore to the 2009 Met Gala\u2014came about as the model played around with the idea of tying a towel on her head fresh out of the shower. \u201cI put pins in it, and that became her hat. And then she put a $5 million sapphire or something in the front of it.\u201d<\/p>\n Dior spring\/summer 2026.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Working with someone who\u2019s a little more type A helps even out Jones\u2019s visual ad-libbing. For example, Thom Browne<\/a> often augments his precisely tailored clothing with wild Jones-designed hats that could be anything from a gray flannel elephant head, complete with trunk, to a boater with braids sticking straight up from it. \u201cBecause it\u2019s [paired with] tailoring, it brings it back down to earth,\u201d Jones says. \u201cSo, aesthetically, it\u2019s a perfect balance.\u201d<\/p>\n Givenchy fall\/winter 2026.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Today, with fashion moving in a more maximalist direction, Jones is in his element. Everyone is looking for flights of fancy, and he calls the escapist fantasy of the runway \u201cthis little sugar pill to make people feel better.\u201d<\/p>\n With a r\u00e9sum\u00e9 like his, you might think Jones would be jaded. But he\u2019s perpetually looking forward. \u201cThe next hat,\u201d he says, \u201cis always a challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Design](\"https:\/\/hips.hearstapps.com\/hmg-prod\/images\/efd19653-26a5-490d-a8ac-8694a0a7edd8.jpg?crop=1xw:1xh;center,top&resize=980:*\" "\\"Design")
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