Graham Smith (milliner)

Last updated
Graham Smith
Born (1938-01-19) 19 January 1938 (age 83) [1]
Bexley, Kent [1]
OccupationMilliner

Graham Smith (born 19 January 1938 in Bexley) is a milliner from Kent, England. Beginning his career at a time when hats were an everyday essential for fashionable women, he worked with leading couturiers in Paris and London, later establishing his own brand and also working with mainstream fashion brands such as Kangol.

Contents

Early life and career

Smith was educated at Dartford Grammar School before studying at Bromley College of Art (1956–57), and the Royal College of Art (1958–59). [1]

He began his career at the couture house of Lanvin in Paris, working with then head designer Antonio Castillo. [2] Returning to London, he joined the London couturier and Incorporated Society of London Fashion Designers member Michael of Carlos Place, working at the studio for seven years. [1] By 1965, he was appearing under his own name in the fashion press – the launch collection of couturier Clive Evans (known as Clive) in 1965, was described in The Times as featuring a notable hat. by Graham Smith. This had been customised so that it could be worn with 'Space Age' sunglasses. [3] [4]

Eponymous brand

In 1967, Smith established an eponymous fashion label. He soon attracted high-profile clients, including Elizabeth Taylor, Barbra Streisand and Joan Collins. His designs were also showcased in the collections of leading British designers, including Jean Muir and Zandra Rhodes. [5] [6]

While British millinery was in decline from the 1960s on, Smith (alongside Philip Somerville and Frederick Fox) is credited with keeping the craft alive during the 1970s, thanks in part to the tradition of hat-wearing events such as Royal Ascot and the custom of the British Royal Family. [7]

Kangol and other mainstream brands

Smith was appointed consultant design director at Kangol in 1981, helping to turn around the company's fortunes during the following decade. [1] Among his most photographed hats of this era was Diana Princess of Wales' military-style design, worn with a Catherine Walker suit, during a visit to Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1987. [8] [9] Kangol's profile rose even more with the rise of the sportswear trend and the kangeroo logo (introduced during Smith's tenure), appeared on bucket hats worn by the likes of Run-DMC and the Beastie Boys. [10]

Smith also produced mainstream lines for BHS during the 1990s. [1]

Legacy

Graham Smith was among the designers featured in a 2009 Victoria and Albert Museum millinery exhibition Hats: An Anthology, curated by Stephen Jones. [11] The hat chosen for the exhibition originally appeared in the 1986 Pirelli Calendar and was donated by Wenda Parkinson. [12]

Smith has helped to train other leading milliners, notably hatmaker to the Queen Rachel Trevor-Morgan. [13]

Related Research Articles

Philip Anthony Treacy is an Irish award-winning haute couture milliner, or hat designer, who has been mostly based in London for his career, and who was described by Vogue magazine as "perhaps the greatest living milliner". In 2000, Treacy became the first milliner in eighty years to be invited to exhibit at the Paris haute couture fashion shows. He has won British Accessory Designer of the Year at the British Fashion Awards five times, and has received public honours in both Britain and Ireland. His designs have been displayed at the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Hatmaking Manufacture and design of hats and headwear

Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter.

Simone Mirman

Simone Mirman (1912–2008) was a Paris-born milliner based in London, chiefly known for her designs for the British Royal Family.

John Cavanagh (designer) Fashion designer (1914–2003)

John Cavanagh (1914-2003) was a successful Irish couturier of the 1950s and 1960s. A member of the Incorporated Society of London Fashion Designers (IncSoc), his style has been described as reflecting Parisian chic. He designed the wedding dresses for the Duchess of Kent in 1961 and for Princess Alexandra in 1963.

Stephen Jones (milliner) British milliner

Stephen Jones OBE is a leading British milliner based in London, who is considered one of the world's most radical and important milliners of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. He is also one of the most prolific, having created hats for the catwalk shows of many leading couturiers and fashion designers, such as John Galliano at Dior and Vivienne Westwood. His work is known for its inventiveness and high level of technical expertise. Jones co-curated the 2009 exhibition Hats: An Anthology for the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Frederick Fox LVO was an Australian-born British milliner who designed hats for Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the British Royal Family.

Picture hat

A picture hat or Gainsborough hat is an elaborate woman's hat with a wide brim. It has been suggested that the name may be derived from the way the broad brim frames the face to create a "picture".

Charles Creed British fashion designer

Charles Southey Creed was a British fashion designer. Born into the longstanding tailoring house of Henry Creed & Company in Paris, he launched his eponymous label in London in 1946. The first elected member of the Incorporated Society of London Fashion Designers, he had success in both Britain and the United States.

Otto Lucas

Otto Lucas was a German-born, London-based milliner. Running a hugely successful hatmaking studio in London between the 1930s and the 1970s, his business supplied both major stores throughout Europe, the US and Australia and hats for private clients such as Greta Garbo and Wallis Simpson. His career was cut short when he was killed in a plane crash over Belgium in October 1971.

Aage Thaarup

Aage Thaarup (1906–1987) was a Danish-born milliner who ran a celebrated hatmaking business in London between the 1930s and 1970s.

John Boyd (milliner) Scottish milliner

John Richardson Boyd MBE was a Scottish milliner based in London. Designing hats for over seventy-five years, Boyd was one of London's most respected milliners and is known for his creations for Diana, Princess of Wales and Anne, Princess Royal. Boyd was a milliner to three generations of Diana's family – Diana, her mother Frances Shand Kydd and grandmother Ruth Roche, Baroness Fermoy – and had remained at the centre of his craft adding another generation of royals with Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. Boyd had one of the longest millinery careers in the world whilst continuing to practise his art before his death in 2018. Boyd’s label continues with his protégé and senior milliner Sarah Marshall.

Draped turban

A draped turban or turban hat is a millinery design in which fabric is draped to create headwear closely moulded to the head. Sometimes it may be stiffened or padded, although simpler versions may just comprise wound fabric that is knotted or stitched. It may include a peak, feather or other details to add height. It generally covers most or all of the hair.

Halo hat

A halo hat is a millinery design in which the headgear acts as a circular frame for the face, creating a halo effect. The design is said to date back to the late 19th century, when it was known as the aureole hat; this name is sometimes still used. It may also be known as the angel hat or bambini – the latter said to derive from Italian for terracotta plaques depicting the infant Christ.

Cartwheel hat

A cartwheel hat is a hat with a wide-brimmed circular or saucer-shaped design. It may be made in a variety of materials, including straw or felt and usually has a low crown. It may be similar to the picture hat and halo-brimmed hat in shape. Typically, it is worn at an angle to show off the curve of the brim, rather than being worn at the back of the head in the manner of a halo hat.

Claude Saint-Cyr French milliner

For the French general and diplomat, see Claude Carra Saint-Cyr

Mushroom hat

A mushroom hat is a millinery style in which the brim of the hat tilts downwards, resembling the shape of a mushroom. It is a style that first emerged in the 1870s and 1880s, when it was usually made of straw. It became fashionable again from around 1907 to the late 1920s; these versions featured a distinctly downturned brim although the size and shape of the crown varied according to prevailing fashions.

Lampshade hat

A lampshade hat is a millinery design in which the hat has a small circular crown – typically flat, but sometimes rounded – and flares outwards to create a cone-like profile. In shape, it may have some similarities to the pillbox and bucket hat, both of which were popular at around the same time, although the classic lampshade design is longer and more flared than a pillbox and is generally made of stiffer material than a bucket hat.

Lachasse was a British couture firm operating from 1928 until 2006, making it one of the longest surviving high fashion houses in London.

Justin Smith is a leading British milliner based in London. He creates bespoke millinery under the J Smith Esquire brand for a portfolio of private clients that includes Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt and Amal Clooney. Smith's hats have been exhibited around the world, and have been acquired by such museums as the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London for Hats: An Anthology curated by Stephen Jones. His work is in continuous demand by stylists and photographers for the quality style press. He has been visiting lecturer at London's Royal College of Art and has conducted seminars and teaching workshops for the British Council.

Muriel Matilda Etches (1898–1974) was a British fashion designer and couturier, and a film and theatre costume designer. She first went into business in 1934, and found "widespread fame" in the 1940s. Etches was also a theatre and film costume designer, and worked with Sophie Fedorovitch and Cecil Beaton. Clothes that she created in the 1940s were the first modern fashion items to be honoured as key acquisitions by London's Victoria and Albert Museum.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Flux, Alan J. "Smith, Graham". fashionencylopedia.com. Fashion Encyclopedia. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  2. ↑ Polan, Brenda (23 May 1985). "Head Lines". The Guardian.
  3. ↑ "Study in dress contrasts". The Times (56227). 23 January 1965.
  4. ↑ de Prada, Cristina. "Graham Smith and the Woolmark Company collection". blog.deprada.net. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  5. ↑ Holmes, Rosanna (15 June 2010). "Vintage Hats". Homes & Antiques. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  6. ↑ Chico, Beverly (2013). Hats and Headwear Around the World. ABC-CLIO LLC. p. 155. ISBN   9781610690638 . Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  7. ↑ Sterlacci Purvin, Francesca; Arbuckle, Joanne (2008). The A to Z of the Fashion Industry. Plymouth, UK: Scarecrow Press. p. 168. ISBN   9780810870468 . Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  8. ↑ "Visiting the Royal Military Academy". xfinity.comcas.net. Xfinity. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  9. ↑ "A beret good show: 70 years of Kangol". The Scotsman. 26 November 2008. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  10. ↑ "The Exhibition". vam.ac.uk. Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  11. ↑ "The Pirelli Calendar 1985". vam.ac.uk. Victoria and Albert Museum. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  12. ↑ Pearce, Antonia. "Fit for the Queen". theluxurychannel.com. The Luxury Channel. Retrieved 20 September 2014.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.