In this week’s blog, Costume Society News Editor Dr Babette Radclyffe-Thomas reviews Palais Galleria’s Stephen Jones millinery exhibition.
For the first time in over four decades, the Palais Galleria Museum in Paris is hosting an exhibition dedicated to one sole accessory, the hat. Legend of contemporary millinery Stephen Jones spearheads the exhibition that explores his creative process, sources of inspiration, work in Paris and his close collaborative relationships with some of the world’s most renowned couturiers and fashion designers.
The exhibition explores his work since the 1980s, when he first opened his millinery salon in London. Close to 400 works are displayed comprising more than 170 hats, as well as his archives that include photographs and sketches. The exhibition key curator is Miren Arzalluz, director of the Palais Galliera, the exhibition’s scientific curator is Marie-Laure Gutton, head of the accessory collections, assisted by Alice Freudiger.
The exhibition is divided into five key sections across multiple rooms and takes a chronological thematic approach, starting with his early childhood growing up in North-West England and then studying art at High Wycombe College. Interestingly for costume historians, this room details Jones’s pivotal experience upon travelling to the Victoria & Albert Museum to visit the ‘Fashion, 1900-1939’ exhibition. Upon viewing the quilted evening jacket made by Charles James made in 1937, he realised fashion was his calling and enrolled onto Womenswear Fashion design at Saint Martin's School of Art, London, graduating in 1979. The jacket’s intricate construction influenced many of his designs, most notably his Charles James cap which he presented in his 2017 Haute Couture and Prêt-à-Porter collection.
This first section, entitled ‘A British milliner’ commences with his move from Liverpool to London, before the second room that explores the uber cool nightclub Blitz where Jones partied with musicians such as Boy George who then became some of his first clients. In this room, nightclub music is blasted out, creating the only soundscape in the exhibition.
The British heritage of his brand and how this has appeared in many of his hat creations is explored in the next room, before the exhibition’s second section on his move from London to Paris, details the impact of Paris upon Jones’s career and designs. The third section exploring Paris as a source of inspiration: “Although I have visited Paris over a thousand times, the myth of Paris has always been stronger than the reality,” Jones said.
As the exhibition is in Paris, Jones’s close relationship with Parisian fashion houses and his close ties with French culture are a key focus. Various French references in Jones’s work include the French surrealists, French seaside towns, Parisian nights and the influence of Paris couture houses. In this specific room, headwear from the museum’s archive is also displayed such as a late 1920s cloche hat by Jeanne Lanvin that was extensively restored in 2023. The influence of the archive is clear to see in Jones’s work, as a 1780 headpiece is shown next to his 2014/15 AW ‘Garbo Gabo’ hat, showing clear design inspirations.
In the following room, the fourth section of the exhibition entitled ‘a milliner’s artistry’ explores the stages of hat creation in his workshop in London. Thes stages are depicted in brightly coloured montages including research, sketches, prototypes, shapes, materials, making, trimming and the final item. Video footage shows Jones advising his clients, before visitors enter the largest room and the final section of the exhibition dedicated to his many Parisian collaborations.
In this room about 40 complete outfits are on display, each with a Jones design. These include Azzedine Alaia, Thierry Mugler, Givenchy, John Galliano and many others. “I could take the same grosgrain bow, intended for four different designers, and each one would have its signature look. The one for Maria Grazia Chiuri would reflect her vision of the ideal, perfectly symmetrical bow. For Rei Kawakubo, I could tie the ribbon and then wash down the colours. If I made a bow for Thom Browne, it would be a bit preppy: the ends of the ribbon would come up a bit, so it would look both impeccable and upbeat. For Daniel Roseberry, at Schiaparelli, the bow would take on an extravagant air, one loop would be longer than the other” Jones said. The exhibition was designed by scenographer Sandra Courtine, CIEL Architectes and in the first four sections, hats were presented as pieces of jewellery, allowing visitors to admire every detail up close. In the last section, complete looks were presented in a décor of curved walls inspired by the Rolls Royce hat design. In the exhibition exit, a photobooth allowed visitors to dress in a virtual version of a Jones hat.
The exhibition ran until 16th March 2025.
If you are interested in exploring more millinery, revisit our previous blog post on The Culture Trust's 'Hats Made Me' exhibition.
Thom Browne © Gautier Deblonde
