Stephen Jones (milliner)

Stephen Jones OBE (born 1957) is a British milliner based in London, who is considered one of the most radical and important milliners of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. He is also one of the most prolific, having created hats for the catwalk shows of many leading couturiers and fashion designers, such as John Galliano at Dior and Vivienne Westwood.Hats: An Anthology microsite
on the V&A Museum website, accessed 1 April 2009 His work is known for its inventiveness and high level of technical expertise.Stephen Jones spiral hat
in the V&A collections online database. Accessed 3 April 2009 Jones co- curated the 2009 exhibition ''Hats: An Anthology'' for the Victoria and Albert Museum.Hats: An Anthology information page
on the V&A Museum website, accessed 1 April 2009

Early life

Stephen Jones was born on the Wirral Peninsula in Cheshire and educated at Liverpool College. From an early age, his mother instilled in him an appreciation of art by taking him around the Walker Art Gallery, Speke Hall, and to National Trust properties around the North West.Jones, Stephen, ''A Personal View'', for

He studied art at foundation level at the High Wycombe College of Art. In 1975 he travelled to London to see the exhibition ''Fashion from 1900-1939'' at the V&A, which inspired him to pursue a career in the fashion industry.Biography of Stephen Jones
on the V&A Museum website, accessed 1 April 2009 This led him to apply to study fashion design under Bobby Hillson, at the Saint Martin's School of Art, London, where he was the sole male student in his year. Although he enjoyed being taught by Peter Lewis Crown, the designer-owner of the London couture house Lachasse, he had little prior sewing experience, and so in order to develop his skills Crown secured Jones a summer placement in Lachasse's tailoring workroom. Jones soon requested a transfer to the next-door millinery department presided over by Shirley Hex, but was told he had to make a hat from scratch first. The hat he eventually submitted, his first original millinery creation, was a cardboard pillbox covered in blue crêpe de Chine and trimmed with a plastic iris, sprayed silver that his mother had received as a free gift from a petrol station in the 1960s. In his innocence, Jones had not realised that millinery flowers were traditionally made of silk, but Hex approved the hat, commenting on the flower's modernity. Between 1976 and 1979 Jones spent his summer breaks working for Hex and learning about millinery methods and techniques. Through hats he developed a keen interest in fashion history, particularly the drama and exaggerated glamour of the 1950s.

Jones left Saint Martin's in 1979, the same year that he became a regular attendee of London's ''Blitz'' nightclub in Covent Garden for New Romantics and fans of new wave music. Jones had been a Punk while at St Martins, but keenly embraced the New Romantic movement as its drawing of inspiration from historical dress resonated with his thinking. As one of the "Blitz Kids", he hung out with the likes of Spandau Ballet, Duran Duran, Isabella Blow, and Jean Paul Gaultier; and shared a house with Boy George and Grayson Perry, competing with them to wear the most outrageous outfits to Blitz, including a pinstripe suit with stiletto heels.Nikkhah, Roya
"And Now For Stephen Jones's Crowning Glory"
in ''The Independent'', 26 November 2008 Many of the Blitz Kids became his first clients, with Jones creating outlandish hats for them to wear to the club.

Millinery career

Jones designed a line of hats for Fiorucci in 1979. In 1980, Blitz's owner Steve Strange provided financial backing for Jones' first millinery salon, which opened nearby in the basement of the trendy store PX, Endell Street, Covent Garden on 1 October.Stephen Jones' CV
, as posted on his official website. Accessed 2 April 2009 It was an instant success, with Jones commenting in 2008: "Overnight, I had a business". On New Year's Eve 1980, Jones had his head shaved by drunk friends, leading him to discover that without hair, his head was a perfect woman's stock size, and that he could become his own fit model, developing all his ideas and designs upon himself.Limnander, Armand
"The Headliner: Stephen Jones makes waves as well as cloches"
for ''The New York Times'', 17 August 2008. Accessed 3 April 2009

1982 saw Jones' first Paris fashion show and his first televised show (for the BBC
...