milliner
Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter.
Historically, milliners, typically women shopkeepers, produced or imported an inventory of g ...
and
fashion designer
Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...
. He designs hats and clothing displayed on
Ladies' Day
''Ladies' Day'' is a 1943 American comedy film directed by Leslie Goodwins and written by Charles E. Roberts and Dane Lussier, adapted from the play of the same name. The film stars Lupe Vélez, Eddie Albert, Patsy Kelly, Max Baer and Jerome Cow ...
at
Royal Ascot
Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races and ...
, and has been called "The Hatman” and "the Mad Hatter.”
Childhood
David Shilling was born in London and attended
St Paul's School, London
(''By Faith and By Learning'')
, established =
, closed =
, type = Independent school Public school
, religion = Church of England
, president =
, he ...
. By the age of twelve he was designing hats and outfits for his mother, Gertrude, for her to wear to the Ascot horse races. He designed these for her until she died in 1999. By the age of thirteen he was creating toys to sell at his local shop, and later, scarves and accessories to major British retailers such as Fenwick,
Fortnum & Mason
Fortnum & Mason (colloquially often shortened to just Fortnum's) is an upmarket department store in Piccadilly, London, with additional stores at The Royal Exchange, St Pancras railway station, Heathrow Airport in London and K11 Musea In Hong ...
, and
Liberty
Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom.
In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
.
Career
Shilling opened his first store in
Marylebone High Street
Marylebone High Street is a shopping street in London, running sub-parallel to Baker Street and terminating at its northern end at the junction with Marylebone Road. Given its secluded location, the street has been described as "the hidden wond ...
in 1976: two days after its opening the store received an order from a rock star's wife for twenty four hats.
His first collection was purchased in America by
Bloomingdale's
Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain; it was founded in New York City by Joseph B. Bloomingdale, Joseph B. and Lyman G. Bloomingdale in 1861. A third brother, Emanuel Watson Bloomingdale, was also involved in the bus ...
; and other stores began selling his creations soon afterwards. In the late 1970s
Bergdorf Goodman
Bergdorf Goodman Inc. is a luxury department store based on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York. The company was founded in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf and was later owned and managed by Edwin Goodman, and later his son, Andrew Goodman.
To ...
charged up to $3,000 for a David Shilling hat.
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
British TV series "
Arena
An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...
" created a film on Shilling titled ''How to Get Ahead in Fashion'' (1980).
In 1988, he was invited by the USSR to show his hats during the first
Miss USSR
Miss USSR (russian: Мисс CCCP) was a national beauty contest held in the Soviet Union. It ran for three years from 1989 through to the dissolution of the Union in 1991. at pageantopolis.com
Titleholders
Representatives at International Bea ...
Pageant in Moscow, the first live TV broadcast throughout the USSR. In 1990, he headed a successful mission for the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
in Ecuador which led to other projects as an art and design ambassador with the UN in Africa and Asia.
Shilling eventually stopped wholesale hat-making and moved to producing only made-to-order garments.
He designed the emblem for Britain's Festival of Arts and Culture in 1994; due to this he became a driving force behind the new "
Cool Britannia
Cool Britannia was a name for the period of increased pride in the culture of the United Kingdom throughout the mid and second half of the 1990s, inspired by Swinging London from 1960s pop culture. This loosely coincided with John Major's conse ...
" re-branding of Britain. His designs for theatre, opera, ballet, film and TV formed an exhibition at the
Royal Shakespeare Theatre
The Royal Shakespeare Theatre (RST) (originally called the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre) is a grade II* listed 1,040+ seat thrust stage theatre owned by the Royal Shakespeare Company dedicated to the English playwright and poet William Shakespe ...
in 1998.
In 2007 he displayed the first of an expected ten collections of hats (each priced at £1,000,000) at
Top Marques Monaco
Top Marques Monaco is an event that takes place annually at the Grimaldi Forum in the principality of Monaco. It features exhibitions by numerous purveyors of luxury aircraft, automobile, boat, watches, jewellery etc. A quarter of the event's tick ...
. In November 2009 he held his first show in mainland China at the
Ritz-Carlton
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, LLC is an American multinational company that operates the luxury hotel chain known as The Ritz-Carlton. The company has 108 luxury hotels and resorts in 30 countries and territories with 29,158 rooms, in addit ...
in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
. His work encompasses all areas of art, fashion and design, outdoor sculpture, jewellery, men's and ladies' bespoke clothing, accessories, home furnishings, theatre, ballet, opera and interior design.
In 2010, a hat with diamonds created by David in the late 1970s was nominated by the ''
Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'' as the most expensive hat in the world in the 21st century. He previewed a collection of hats designed for men at the
Embassy of Monaco, London
The Embassy of Monaco in London is the diplomatic mission of the Principality of Monaco in the United Kingdom.
The embassy building in London houses the embassy, the Monaco Economic Board and the Monaco Tourist Authority, with a mission stateme ...
in 2012. In 2021, he applied to join a ten-day mission to the
International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...
(ISS) in a mixed crew of professional and privately funded astronauts.
Charitable work
Shilling has worked with many charities, including Consortium for Street Children for whom he designed their logo & helped organise their launch at
10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street in London, also known colloquially in the United Kingdom as Number 10, is the official residence and executive office of the first lord of the treasury, usually, by convention, the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Along wi ...
,
World Horse Welfare
World Horse Welfare is a registered charity in the United Kingdom and Scotland that was previously named The International League for the Protection of Horses. Anne, Princess Royal is its patron.
History
World Horse Welfare was founded in 1927 a ...
Natural History Museum
A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...
, London. He is a patron of
Action on Addiction
Action on Addiction is a UK-based charity that works with people affected by drug and alcohol addiction. It works in the areas of research, prevention, treatment, aftercare, as well as professional education and family support.HM Prison, The Mount.
Personal life
He currently lives in Monaco.
Notable events
*2005: a series of stainless steel and aluminium sculptures collectively called "Hope" were installed atop Primrose Hill in London's
Regent's Park
Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...
as part of "Discover - Positive Elements of Life".
*2018: he launched World Yacht Party, a collection of music videos and recordings.
In collections
*
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
(New York)
*
Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Fr ...
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
Holdenby House
Holdenby House is a historic country house in Northamptonshire, traditionally pronounced, and sometimes spelt, Holmby. The house is situated in the parish of Holdenby, six miles (10 km) northwest of Northampton and close to Althorp. It is a G ...
Steel Sculptures (
Northampton, England
Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...