Viva Brighton Issue #73 March 2019

EXHIBITION
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Stephen Jones
Hats at the Royal Pavilion
The Mad Hatter 2013 and hat for Thom Browne AW14 in the Kitchen
If hats could talk, one can only
imagine the conversations
that might take place between
those currently on display in
the Royal Pavilion’s Banqueting
Hall. The 26 ‘seated’ at
the banqueting table where
the Prince Regent once hosted
his lavish dinner parties are
– but for one – all the work
of Stephen Jones, a milliner
whose list of famous clients
would stretch all the way down
Madeira Drive.
In this particular exhibit, the
centrepiece of a spectacular
career-spanning retrospective,
Tilda Swinton (or her headpiece,
at least) mingles with
Cindy Crawford; Lady Gaga
could swap gossip with Princess
Diana, and Mick Jagger
share a drink with Kate Moss.
At the head of the table, of
course, sits Prinny himself, in
a felt hat Jones copied from his
painting at the National Portrait
Gallery. The only person
not represented by a Stephen
Jones hat is Jones himself,
who has chosen instead his
grandfather’s top hat: “I have
a rather strange head shape,”
he explains, “and obviously it
comes from him because it fits
me perfectly.”
The exhibition, staged in partnership
with Harvey Nichols
and seven years in the making,
spans a career of nearly four
decades, from Jones’ early days
partying with – and making
hats for – Boy George at
London’s legendary Blitz Club
through his collaborations
with designers including Dior,
Giles Deacon and Comme des
Garcons up to more recent
creations for devoted fans such
as Lady Gaga, who loved the
huge, pink, feather-trimmed
All images © Tessa Hallmann/Royal Pavilion & Museums, Brighton & Hove
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