print page
view pdf
Stephen Jones
"Jones is a deft conjurer, who can draw whimsy from a hat. Steeped in couture lore and craft, he nevertheless propels his art into the future with his ceaseless invention and thistledown touch." His genius is to enhance the mystery, allure, and wit of the wearer."
Hamish Bowles, Vogue USA
"Stephen Jones is the maker of the most beautiful hats in the world."
Anna Piaggi, Vogue Italia
"Stephen Jones is possibly the most original milliner working today. His hats echo Schiaparelli's from the 1930s, but are always completely up to the minute in mood. He entirely understands the zeitgeist"
Colin McDowell, ‘Hats: Status, Style, Glamour’.
Born in Cheshire, and schooled in Liverpool, Stephen Jones burst on to the London fashion scene during its explosion of street style in the late seventies. By day, he was a student at St Martins School of Art; after dark he was one of that era's uncompromising style-blazers at the legendary Blitz nightclub - always exquisitely dressed, and always crowned with a striking hat of his own idiosyncratic design.
By 1980, Jones had opened his first millinery salon in the heart of London's Covent Garden. Those premises soon became a place of pilgrimage and patronage, as everyone from rock stars to royalty, from Boy George to Diana, Princess of Wales, identified Jones as the milliner who would help them make arresting headlines.
Jones made millinery seem modern and compelling. In materials that were often radical, and in designs that ranged from refined to whimsical, his exquisitely crafted, quixotic hats encapsulated the fashion mood of the moment.
Twenty-five years later, Jones's era-defining edge continues to attract a celebrity clientele which currently includes, Pink, Bishi, Kylie, Take That! Mick Jagger and Dita von Teese. Last Year he created hats for Audrey Tatou in the movie ‘Coco avant Chanel’ which is nominated for a BAFTA, a César and Oscar and is currently working on Sex and the City 2.
From Vivienne Westwood, Claude Montana, Thierry Mugler and Jean-Paul Gaultier throughout the eighties, to his current work with Giles, Marc Jacobs, Rei Kawakubo and John Galliano for Dior, Jones's hats have been an integral component in some of the most memorable runway spectacles of the past thirty years.
Today, Jones's boutique, studio and ateliers are all located in a charming Georgian townhouse close to the site of his very first millinery salon. In addition to his Model Millinery collection, he designs the widely-distributed Miss Jones and Jonesboy diffusion ranges.
In May 2009 Stephen staged a major exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, entitled “Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones”. The exhibition opened to huge critical acclaim receiving over 100.000 visitors and will be shortly starting its world tour in Australia. This September 2010, the solo exhibition ‘Stephen Jones&’, will open at the Mode Museum in Antwerp.
In recognition of his achievements Stephen has recently been made a Royal Designer by The Faculty of Royal Designers for Industry and awarded an Order of the British Empire by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.
Now, as ever, at the forefront of fashion, his beguiling hats routinely grace the most celebrated magazine covers and enliven window displays of the world's most stylish stores. From runways to race-courses, from pop-promos to royal garden parties, millinery by Stephen Jones adds the exclamation mark to every fashion statement.