British hatmaker turns heads with ‘outrageous’ creations
From racing at Royal Ascot to high society weddings, summer is the busiest time of year for British hatmaker Adrian Phillip Howard, who says he revels in the “outrageous and outlandish”.
Howard is the in-house milliner at distinguished London department store Fortnum and Mason, where on the second floor only the hum of his sewing machine interrupts the atmosphere of genteel calm. Smartly dressed in a light suit and with hair swept to one side, the 40-something hatmaker, who has previously worked with members of Britain’s royal family, is full of passion for a job which started as a hobby.
“The summer is the busiest season — the racing season, Ascot, the Derby, all those things,” he said. “Ascot’s fun is my favourite time because the hats are a little bit more outrageous and outlandish. “A lady may come in and she has a dress with perhaps six or seven colours and she would say: ‘Can you incorporate more into the hat ’ and for me, that’s like a dream.”
His clients’ husbands, however, are sometimes less keen. “One gentleman came in to me that I hadn’t met before and he said: ‘All my golf clubs have had to be moved out of my room to accommodate your hats.’ He said ‘you’re not my favourite person’ because his wife had so many,” Howard adds.
One recent creation which the milliner shows off features a huge black tulle bow, which he hopes to sell before Ascot.
One of the highlights of the horse racing calendar which is known for its flamboyant parade of hats, the five-day event west of London starts on Tuesday.
Howard spends most of his time at a workshop in his garden in East Sussex, in southern England.
But he travels to the British capital twice a week to carry out fittings and meet clients at Fort-num and Mason, where he has worked since 2009. “I’m the first in-house milliner here since 1958 so it’s a great honour. It’s my favourite shop, too — I’m a lucky boy,” he says. He says his clients come “from all walks of life”. Taking inspiration from the classic Hollywood glamour of stars like Audrey Hepburn, his hats take from one day to two weeks to create and do not come cheap. Prices start at £300 but can be significantly more expensive depending on what kind of extras the client wants. “The sky’s the limit, depending on what detail goes into them,” he says.
“Some ladies might have fine jewels they want on their hats.”
Although some women insist that hats do not suit them, Howard believes this is not the case — it is simply a question of finding the right style.
“I think there is a hat for everybody,” he says.
