Name: Nazgul Nejmi
Label: Nazgul Nejmi Millinery under Brand Gul and Naz
Based in: Dubai, UAE
When and why did you start designing hats?
It’s been 10 years now that I have been making hats in the UAE and I guess that makes me one of the first local based milliners in Dubai. My journey and original inspiration started in 2008, by chance, when I first attended the races and was having difficulty finding a unique hat that expressed me as a person. Or even something just ‘different’.
Everything I saw was all very classic and typically old school. So I decided right then and there to just make my own creation — not as a career at that point, but just for myself and that caught a lot of attention of the crowd and media. That was when I decided to go into millinery, pursued a formal education and have been designing my unique creations ever since.
What’s your design philosophy?
To create a wow factor! And while doing so, to make women feel confident and comfortable in expressing themselves and their individuality through a hat.
What’s the most outrageous design you’ve ever created?
A crystallised Burj Khalifa on my head. Meydan, made from broken glass pieces to create the mosaic effect, and a hat with LED lights.
Which should come first: the hat or the dress?
I don’t believe either should be first and there shouldn’t be a rule for that in my opinion as I believe it works both ways. I have some people coming with a dress and asking to get a custom made hat to match and I have some people asking for a unique custom made hat first (although most of my clients go for the hat first and that is why they come to me, for a unique custom hat). I, myself, always go for the hat first.
What are the most in-demand styles this season?
People are asking for more sculpted shapes, Turbans and big creative brims. Bold colours, especially shades of violet, fuschia and red.
Can you give us a brief idea of how styles have evolved since you began designing?
Ten years ago when I started designing, it was more of the big hats with a lot of flowers and feathers that you wore on top or the side of your head, and less of fascinators. Materials used were the typical millinery supplies such as sinamay and straw.
But along the way headbands, fascinators and big brims with no crowns have became very trendy, and styles have evolved into all kinds of shapes, made from many new different materials and placed on different parts of the head, even the face. You can get hats made from plastic, or even laser cut titanium and copper headpieces. Millinery has taken on a whole new level and has become very contemporary. I think top milliners like Philip Treacy and Stephen Jones have played a big role in advancing/evolving millinery styles.
People’s styles too have changed greatly as they are now more open to creativity, uniqueness and are more fashion conscious.
Is the UAE any different from other markets around the world in terms of the styles in demand? If yes, in what way?
Yes. it is very different. Dubai being a cosmopolitan place has people of all kinds of taste and style. So the market is pretty diverse. People are very fashion conscious and dynamic. They are not too traditional or conservative. We all know the Dubai World cup is a huge fashion event with rewarding competitions for best hats/dressed etc so people pay a lot of attention to dressing up for this.
What’s the most people should spend on a hat/headdress?
I think where there’s art, there is no limit on the price. And custom-made hats are creations of art. Only one can decide the limit based on their situation. I say if it fits right, and looks good, go for it.
What are the biggest mistakes people make when selecting a hat/headdress?
When they pick something that doesn’t suit their face shape, height, and most importantly their personality. A hat represents your personality, so it should sit and feel right
What next for your label?
A sports/gym line of caps and headgear including hijabis sports caps, as well as designing uniform hats/caps/headgear for the retail industry (for example restaurants, beauty spas etc).
Name: Kingsely Asim-Ita
Label: Itam by kingssignature
Based in: Lagos, Nigeria
When and why did you start designing hats?
I was born into a hat family. My grandmother, mother and aunt sold hats at different points in my life, so I was basically always seeing hats and had a lot of interest in making them. I was a critic and sketching loads as a child. I remember my aunt asking me to sketch designs as a teenager and she took them to a hat factory in UK to be made. So after graduating from school as an architect, I went back to learn millinery, made lots of hats for fashion-forward women back home and then officially in 2012 started a millinery line.
What’s your design philosophy?
Be original. [My] designs are mostly inspired by nature.
What’s the most outrageous design you’ve ever created?
The most outrageous design was made some years ago for the Dubai World Cup and was tagged Million Peacock Feathers and was worn by our brand’s loyal Russian client, Lucy.
Which should come first: the hat or the dress?
We always preach that the headpiece should come first then the dress. it’s safer and easier to coordinate.
What are the most in-demand styles this season?
This season pillboxes, perchers, halo crowns and vintage Alice bands are in..... but we cannot take away the classic look which is a hat or a hatinator.
Can you give us a brief idea of how styles have evolved since you began designing?
Styles have evolved from hats and hatinators to pillboxes, then fascinators got in, and perchers was birthed, halo crowns banged in taking us back to the vintage era.
Is the UAE any different from other markets around the world in terms of the styles in demand? If yes, in what way?
Basically I see the UAE as being cosmopolitan as it has different nationalities resident there, this gives it the fashion-forward edge, also being the centre for the world’s richest horse racing, the styles and demand always increases as the years go by.
What’s the most people should spend on a hat/headdress?
The amount to be spent is a personal issue, everyone knows it’s not cheap to make a fashion statement and attend the races. luxury fine dining is expensive ... but not to discourage people, there are hats and dresses to meet every budget be it slim or otherwise.
What are the biggest mistakes people make when selecting a hat/headdress?
They get carried away with the design and material used to make the hat and don’t focus on the fitting of the headpiece considering the shape of their faces and also their hair length and style of their dresses.
What next for your label?
Going global... being stocked in all the luxury stores around the world.
Name: Suzy Buckley Woodward
Label: Shapoh Hats
Based in: US
When and why did you start designing hats?
I was attending the Kentucky Derby every year, but could never find a fabulous hat that suited my personal style here in America. The options seemed to be non-existent at department stores, and either old-fashioned floppy hats from a vintage store, costumey-looking, datede headwear, floppy sun/beach hats, or funky, cheap-looking things sold on Etsy; there was nothing really in between... and definitely nothing that felt modern, fashion-forward or sophisticated.
One year, I happened to be in London in April (the Kentucky Derby is in early May), and bought a hat that I wore when I ended up winning the Kentucky Oaks Longines Fashion Contest! But I thought to myself, I obviously can’t fly to London with my dress every year the month before Derby to buy a hat to match.
So I’d continue to order hats from abroad, but the lead time was always six weeks or more. You just can’t get a hat delivered relatively quickly and always seamlessly to the US. Between the time change affecting communication to Australia or Europe, and the unavoidable inconsistencies with international delivery.
That’s why I founded Shapoh.com Fancy Hats & Fascinators, in late 2014.
What’s your design philosophy?
I carry very luxurious, stylish headpieces — most of them by milliners located outside the US. And almost most importantly, I have them in-stock in America, so they can be delivered quickly to “Last-Minute-Lucys” throughout the nation.
Which should come first: the hat or the dress?
I am not sure if it’s because we aren’t as much of a hat-culture nation, or if it’s that shoppers here aren’t used to buying this particular accessory category at all.
But women will come to me with a fabulous outfit that they’d thought through and ordered months and months in advance — from jewellery to bag, to dress to heels, it’s all perfect... but then they put off their hat until the last minute, thinking they’ll just find something in a store at one of the malls after they figure out the rest of their outfit. But it’s not possible to find hats like these stocked at any malls in America any time of year.
Describe your average client.
The average client is American, in her 30s to 60s, and is looking for a hat for one of the big hat-oriented charity luncheons in the US or big horse races like the Kentucky Derby, Dubai World Cup, Del Mar Opening Day, Breeders Cup and even the new Pegasus Cup that takes place in South Florida every January. Several are also attending Royal Ascot, but naturally want to organise their hats and outfits before their trips abroad.
How do you choose which millinery labels/designers to stock?
I am constantly researching online... looking at social media, emailing with milliners I hear about or see on Fashions on the Field winners’ heads, asking for line sheets, photos, etc.
My clients are looking for something special, new, fresh and often one-of-a-kind. I also prefer to stock milliners who give me an exclusive to sell their pieces online in America. It also needs to make sense from a profit standpoint: I know what the majority of my clientele are comfortable spending, and what they think will be too expensive. So if I can buy my headpieces wholesale for a price that makes sense for me and for my clients, it works.
I definitely buy some conservative styles for clients looking for something more simple, but the prices need to be in line with that. I’m always looking at the next season’s Pantone colour-of-the-year, materials, accessories, fabrics and styles to see what colourways of hats to buy.
Who are your favourite designers?
I look a lot at the collections of some of my favourite hat-friendly designers, like Dolce & Gabbana, Mary Katrantzou, Oscar de la Renta, Naeem Khan, Gucci, etc, and see what they’re up to in terms of icons on prints, colourways, fabrics and so on. I try to stay ahead of the game as much as possible.
How do you help your clients to find the perfect hat?
I have a YouTube channel with a lot of ‘how-to’ hat videos that I’m always updating, as well an Instagram account on which I’m constantly posting inspiration. I’ll pair images of brand-new designer dresses with hats that I either have in-stock or once had in-stock. It’s purely inspirational, but can just give shoppers an idea of the kinds of creative ways they can go in terms of hat dressing.
Shoppers can of course replicate these looks with dresses at every price level. Very often, clients will email me photos of their dresses (and themselves, so I can consider their hair colour and style) and ask for recommendations.
