A-head of the crowd… How queens and princesses turn to a tiny group of trusted craftsmen and women for their hats, the most intricate – and most dramatic – wardrobe pieces of them all

If you are going to be on the very high of the social tree, then it is best to have a head for heights – and a great hat to placed on high of it. 

It is no marvel that royal ladies have tended to depend on a choose group of trusted milliners, typically establishing an in depth working relationship.

Queen Elizabeth II, for instance, wore a whole bunch of creations by Rachel Trevor-Morgan within the later a long time of her reign.

The ‘look’ of the monarch and the sense of presence she created had been a central a part of her position, after all.

So it helped that the late Queen had clear concepts about what she did and did not need. 

Ms Trevor-Morgan defined to MailOnline that the late Queen approached her designs like some other shopper, however with a transparent imaginative and prescient.

In distinction, Jane Taylor, who solely designs hats for Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, is commonly given inventive freedom over her designs.

‘Principally I’ll obtain an image of the outfit and a swatch, and the shopper will say “create one thing”,’ she instructed MailOnline.

‘Not all purchasers need to be the centre of consideration, and there is a high quality line between making them really feel assured and giving their outfit a little bit of an edge.’

Rachel Trevor-Morgan

Rachel Trevor-Morgan was granted The Royal Warrant of Appointment to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth in 2014. 

The milliner instructed MailOnline about her first encounter with the Queen:

‘I acquired a name from Angela Kelly, the Queen’s dresser and private assistant, who requested if I might be keen on designing hats for Her Majesty, naturally I mentioned sure.

‘She requested to go to my showroom and see my hats in particular person. I requested when and she or he mentioned right away – no time for flapping! What adopted was a request to sketch some appropriate hats.

‘The primary hat that I designed for the Queen was for her eightieth birthday service at St Paul’s. Many hats had been to observe.’

Certainly, the Queen donned Trevor-Morgan’s hats on quite a few high-profile events, together with the service of celebration at Westminster Abbey marking her and Prince Philip’s diamond marriage ceremony anniversary.

When explaining the design course of, Trevor-Morgan mentioned:

‘I primarily labored with Angela Kelly and Stewart Parvin, her couturier, when designing the Queen’s hats. It was by them that I acquired the color swatches and clothes designs. I might then design the hat and a becoming would observe.

‘The Queen had a really set model that labored for her, she at all times regarded fabulous, and it was very a lot her look.’

Crafting a couture hat includes meticulous steps. 

Initially, the straw or material undergoes dyeing and blocking to form it. For intricate flower trims, every hue is dyed to harmonise, adopted by the person chopping, tooling and rolling of every petal. 

The milliner emphasised the significance of heeding the Queen’s enter and collaborating carefully to craft the right hat. 

‘Each time I’m becoming a hat, I take heed to my shopper and see how they react to my design. I can inform if one thing just isn’t proper, and the shopper lets you recognize. 

‘The Queen was no totally different. She was a really trendy monarch and new completely what she preferred and what labored.’

Trevor-Morgan is happy with having created quite a few hats for Her Majesty, together with the inexperienced hat worn throughout her closing balcony look. 

‘The Queen got here from an period of nice hat carrying and over time she wore some extremely style ahead hats.

‘She had in all probability worn extra hats than anybody else on the earth and I’m lucky to be a part of that historical past.’

Additional royal purchasers embrace Princess Beatrice, who wore a very charming burgundy floral headband to the memorial service for Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

Coincidentally, Princess Margaret’s granddaughter, Margarita Armstrong-Jones, and Flora Vesterberg additionally sported the milliner’s headpieces on the Westminster Abby service.

Rachel Trevor-Morgan is at present primarily based in St James’s, London.

She is a Brother of the Artwork Employee’s Guild, a founder member of The British Hat Guild, serves as an advisor at QEST (Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Belief) and is a member of the Purchase Ladies Constructed community.

Jane Taylor

Jane Taylor specialises in avant-garde hats and headbands.

Her high quality craftsmanship has been favoured by Catherine, Princess of Wales, on a variety of events, such because the christenings of her three kids, Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee Service and Trooping the Color.

Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, has worn Jane Taylor designs since 2009. 

Taylor instructed MailOnline that working along with purchasers is essential for understanding their wants.

‘After I meet a shopper, I look to grasp how far they will go, in addition to how blissful they’re to push boundaries,’ she mentioned.

‘Not all purchasers need to be the centre of consideration, and there is a high quality line between making them really feel assured and giving their outfit a little bit of an edge.’ 

She continued to clarify how she is commonly given free rein over the design of a hat. 

‘Principally I’ll obtain an image of the outfit and a swatch, and the shopper will say “create one thing”.

‘I attempt to give these VIP purchasers an possibility of one in every of two items. However my longstanding purchasers will simply say “make me one thing, I do know will probably be fabulous”.

‘The method then begins the place picket blocks are designed and carved, swatches are hand-dyed to completely match their outfit, after which the work begins on creating the piece itself.’

The hats are meticulously handcrafted and custom-made within the model’s London studio, taking 12-19 hours on common.

‘We use conventional couture strategies to make the items. These heritage strategies take time and loads of ability, so we prepare all our milliners in-house as these abilities aren’t taught at collages,’ Taylor mentioned.

‘Our purchasers typically say that their hats shall be handed all the way down to the subsequent technology, which I really feel so proud to be a part of’.

The model is dedicated to lowering its carbon footprint by implementing particular measures, reminiscent of sourcing all supplies domestically within the UK and dealing with packing and delivery operations straight from the studio. 

Taylor began her enterprise from her residence in 2003, initially promoting domestically. 

In 2007, she relocated to London and expanded her firm whereas dwelling on a narrowboat close to Kew. 

Seven years later, Taylor established her boutique on the Kings Highway in Chelsea and, extra lately, she opened an atelier on Walton Avenue close by.

When requested the way it feels to see her creations being worn by the likes of Kate and Sophie, she mentioned: 

‘It is at all times sensible to see my hats worn by great ladies, and I really feel honoured that so many ladies have chosen my designs over time for such particular events of their lives.’

Jess Collett

‘I consider hats have the facility to remodel your model and temper,’ royal milliner Jess Collett has mentioned previously.

Collett has personally skilled this. She remembers how, as a toddler, carrying a hat would instill her with the boldness to embody the particular person she aspired to be.

Together with her mom being a dressmaker and upholsterer, it was a pure development for Collett to pursue a inventive profession. 

Her elegant designs have adorned Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, and Pippa Middleton.

Her best-remembered items may develop into the coronation headpieces designed for Catherine, Princess of Wales, and Princess Charlotte in collaboration with Alexander McQueen.

The beautiful items characteristic silver bullion, crystal and complicated three-dimensional leaf embroidery, providing a contemporary interpretation of the standard tiara.

After 25 years as a couture milliner, Collett launched her diffusion line, JCM, providing cutting-edge designs for the trendy girl.  

She is a member of the British Hat Guild, the nationwide affiliation {of professional} milliners, hatters and headwear designers.

Juliette Botterill

Juliette Botterill’s hats are a agency favorite of Zara Tindall. 

They’ve additionally been worn by different members of the Royal Household, together with Catherine and Princess Beatrice.

Botterill affords a bespoke couture service and ready-to-wear collections.

She studied for a grasp’s diploma in style design from the Glasgow College of Artwork earlier than launching her namesake label in 2014. 

Along with receiving commissions from the Royal Household, Botterill’s hats are well-liked selections for marriage ceremony company and racegoers alike.  

Philip Treacy 

‘I’ve had the best pleasure of getting the chance to problem individuals’s notion of what a hat ought to seem like within the twenty first century,’ Philip Treacy writes on his web site.

‘I make hats as a result of I like hats. It is an enigmatic object that serves the human objective solely of beautification and embellishment, and making one really feel good, whether or not you are the observer of the spectacle or the wearer.’

Treacy has grow to be one of many world’s most in-demand hat designers. 

His creations have been worn by an array of A-list celebrities, together with Girl Gaga and Beyonce, in addition to varied members of the British Royal Household.

Extensively praised for revolutionising the hat, Treacy designs headwear that flatters and enhances the wearer’s model.

Queen Camilla, who’s a loyal buyer, sported a turquoise design that includes peacock feathers to the Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey. 

Treacy’s hats have additionally been worn by Catherine, Princess of Wales, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, for Trooping the Color in 2019 and 2018 respectively. 

Catherine additionally commissioned a placing scarlet wide-brimmed saucer hat, topped with flowers, for Royal Ascot 2023. 

It completely complemented her custom-made costume by Alexander McQueen. 

Stephen Jones

Thought-about one of the crucial influential milliners of the twentieth century, Stephen Jones boasted Princess Diana as a shopper. 

He started working along with her in 1981, when he was 23. He beforehand instructed MailOnline:

‘Diana was nice. Jasper Conran launched me to her. She’d simply married Charles and was essentially the most well-known particular person on the earth.

‘We walked into the room at St James’s Palace with our bins of hats and she or he was the one particular person in there. I used to be fully awestruck. My face was shiny pink however she was charming.

‘Later, throughout fittings, she’d be listening to Wham Rap! on her Walkman.’

Jones has since designed hats for Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice, and he  created Pippa Middleton’s ethereal marriage ceremony veil.

In his capability as milliner to the Home of Dior, a publish he has held since 1996, Jones made a number of hats for Meghan Markle when she joined the Royal Household.

On the time, the designer mentioned he discovered the Duchess to be ‘charming, elegant, beneficiant and an awesome hat wearer’. 

Jones, who was born in Cheshire, graduated from St Martin’s College of Artwork in 1979 and opened his first millinery salon in Covent Backyard in 1980.

His quirky designs – starting from refined to whimsical – have attracted a notable following, with followers together with Boy George, Mick Jagger, Girl Gaga and Rihanna.

He has collaborated with a variety of style designers, reminiscent of Vivienne Westwood and Thom Browne, to create memorable runway spectacles. 

Jones’ retail boutique, design studio and workroom are all positioned in a Georgian townhouse, close by the positioning of his very first millinery salon. 

Along with his Mannequin Millinery assortment, he designs the widely-distributed Miss Jones and JonesBoy diffusion ranges.