Photo: Noel Stewart, stylist Kate Ruth, image by Matthew Shave.

From the Royal Wedding to Royal Ascot hats are very much back on the fashion agenda. As recently reported in Vogue*, “Whether it was the hugely oversized numbers at Marc Jacobs (or) the chic caps at Roberto Cavalli … statement-making headwear proved the perfect finishing touch for dresses, tailoring and every outfit in between” on the A/W 12/13 catwalks. With headwear making such dramatic statements on the catwalk the exhibition will look at the provocative results as well as showcase some of millinery’s most exciting emerging designers.

Photo: AF Vandevorst AW12 Look 27, image Etienne Tordoir

Visitors will be immersed into the world of millinery through work by British milliner Noel Stewart’s whose dedicated craftsmanship has resulted in notable catwalk collaborations with designers such as Hussein Chalayan, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Oscar de la Renta, and Erdem – on display will be his collaboration with Roksanda Ilincic whose elegant dresses and bright colours have won fans including Michelle Obama and Tilda Swinton. Also on display will be the classic black fedoras by acclaimed British milliner Stephen Jones which rendered the face redundant, in the AW12-13 collection by Belgian husband-wife team AF Vandevorst.

Photo: AF Vandevorst AW12 Look 2, image Etienne Tordoir

Iconic Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto’s use of millinery on the catwalk is playful and provocative. From the dramatically oversized, to hats which define the silhouette he is consistently at the cutting edge of high fashion – archive work dating from 2004 will be featured in the exhibition. Another keen purveyor of humour on the catwalk is acclaimed British designer Giles Deacon, whose work with Stephen Jones has produced awe-inspiring ensembles season after season. On display will be one of his iconic ‘Pacman Ghost’ hats which are also currently on tour as part of the exhibition An Anthology of the Hat by Stephen Jones.

Photo: House of Flora, image M Legare 

Photo: Image courtesy Giles Deacon, SS2009

Flora McLean’s label House of Flora was established in 1996 and is renowned for its avant-garde headwear for catwalk, fashion campaigns and collectors. Collaborations range from Givenchy Couture to PPQ as well as projects with Puma and Victoria Secrets and displays at the Diane Von Furstenberg store in New York. On display will be a piece which also featured in the V&A’s Fashion In Motion catwalk show as part of An Anthology of the Hat by Stephen Jones. Stephen’s pieces from Donna Karan’s A/W 12 collection will also be on display further underlying his super star millinery status in luxury fashion.

Photo: Paul Stafford, image by Christina Smith

As well as high fashion the relationship between hair and millinery will also be explored; Tokyo based milliner and hairstylist, Katsuya Kamo has enjoyed a 20 year long career combining his twin passions, and creating pieces such as the paper headwear for Chanel’s SS09 Couture collection which featured over 7,000 flowers and decorations. On display will be his most enduring collaboration with fellow Japanese designer Junya Watababe. Continuing with the theme of hair and exclusively for this exhibition Bumble & Bumble in association with Radio London hair salon will create bespoke hairpieces for pieces in the exhibition.

Photo: Yasemen Hussein, Lulu, image L.Moolenaar

Challenging conventional aesthetics will be work by Yasemen Hussein who depicts iconic hairstyles from historic paintings and mythologies, film and photography using copper and metal as her medium.

Photo: Yiqing Yin, True Blood, image courtesy designer

Head On will also shine a spotlight on emerging talent such as Winner of the Accessories Collection of the Year at International Talent Support (ITS) 2012 and London College of Fashion graduate Ana Rajcevic. Ana’s work deals directly with redefining space around the head. On display will be a piece from her collection ANIMAL: The Other Side of Evolution, which draws upon skeletal shapes from across the animal kingdom to produce evocative sculptural forms. Cast in fiberglass and pale polyester resin, they appear as striking extensions of the human anatomy when worn.

Photo: Ana Rajcevic, Animal The Other Side of Evolution (fiberglass, resin, 2012), Photography: Fernando Lessa

Demonstrating how headwear can be used to alter the silhouette and subvert and play with scale will be emerging womenswear designer and milliner Paul Stafford, whose work with designer Yiqing Yin will be on display as well as a newly commissioned piece exclusively for Head On. Paul’s work includes large cantilever-style hats placed directly into draped silhouettes which when belted at the waist take the hourglass figure to an entirely new level. Lara Jensen, a graduate of London College of Fashion who already counts Karl Lagerfeld, Jessie J and Lady Gaga as clients, will be showcasing her signature elaborate and decorative pieces which demonstrate her considerable technical expertise.

Photo: Paul Stafford, image by Dominic Tschudin

The FSG is the only dedicated space to fashion curation in central London. It sits within London College of Fashion located in the heart of the West End. The Fashion Space Gallery is managed by curators Leanne Wierzba and Gemma Williams. 

Head On, 6 February 2013 – 23 March 2013, Venue: First Floor, London College of Fashion, 20 John Princes Street, London W1G 0BJ

www.fashionspacegallery.com