Stephen Jones – probably the world’s most celebrated milliner – talks to Jackie Modlinger about Covent Garden, John Galliano and the enduring qualities of the top hat.
When did you first decide that you wanted to be a milliner?
Basically, it was when I was at college having arrived from boarding school – I did an Art Foundation course at High Wycombe School, but I didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do. I really wanted to go to St Martin’s; it was the centre of London, but I wasn’t good enough to enrol on any of the courses like printing, sculpture or graphics. I really loved the idea of doing fashion, and to my complete surprise they accepted me. I was something of a token male – there were only two other men on the course. I was really enthusiastic, but knew nothing whatsoever about designing clothes. After the first month, they realised that my sewing was really bad. I went to Lachasse, a London-based couturier, for a couple of months’ work experience during the holidays. Back at college, I asked for a transfer from tailoring to the hat department and that was that – from the first day I knew that that’s what I wanted to do. The hat is a certain British thing that people do love wearing.
Why did you choose Covent Garden as the location for your shop and what does the area mean to you?
At college, we were just round the corner. I remember when there were only about three shops in Long Acre – Paxmans (the French horn shop), Flip and Paul Howie with his PR guru wife Lynne Franks in the basement. That’s how I first knew Covent Garden. When I left college, we would go to the Blitz club on Great Queen Street. Steve Strange – one of my friends – introduced me to the owners of PX, who asked me whether I would be interested in taking over the basement as a little hat shop.
To get the finance I sold my car – an ex-GPO mini-van – for £150, and that’s how I started the business. Thirteen years ago this property in Great Queen Street came up and I love Covent Garden so I took it. My winter 2008 collection was an homage to Covent Garden. This is where all types of hats are worn, so we looked close to home for inspiration. Like the Opera House, a good bit of My Fair Lady, Aldwych, all different aspects of Covent Garden. There was the Limo – a topper with rose-trimmed underbrim; Assoluta – a balletic head-dress; Costermonger – a vegetable-embellished beret; and Coloratura – a black, operatic confection with clefs and musical notes.
Covent Garden’s a fun place to be, very urban. It has so much personal history for me – Neal Street, the Roxy, Pink Club.
What is your favourite hat design?
The top hat. It’s the Rolls Royce of hats. A top hat in black velvet, folded round and around like a rose in dark red satin – it is my favourite hat of all time. I love the topper on young, old, rich, poor. It’s always racy and sexy too. I adored Schiaparelli and Dior as well.
