Kirsten Woodward

Kirsten Woodward

Kirsten Woodward

British, born 1960
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BiographyNYT
STYLE MAKERS; Kirsten Woodward: Milliner
By TERRY TRUCCO
Published: May 28, 1989
When British society goes to the races at Royal Ascot next month, some of Kirsten Woodward's favorite hats will be on parade.

''Ascot hats tend to be very personal hats,'' said Miss Woodward, 28 years old, who has designed hats for the last five Ascots. ''Some people want to look chic, but some get quite crazy.'' How crazy? ''I did a huge plateau hat covered with 50's organza roses in clashing shades of orange, red and pink,'' she said.

Miss Woodward's spring line, available in London at Harvey Nichols, Harrods and her own tiny shop on Portobello Road, features a flat-brimmed black straw hat bedecked with matching straw flowers, and a golden straw hat that looks like a lampshade.

''I like things with strong shapes and unusual materials, but not much trim,'' she said. She uses fake fur in her winter collection, which includes a bell-brimmed creation in imitation zebra.

She also makes hats for runway collections of several fashion designers, including Karl Lagerfeld, who spotted her hats on a visit to Hyper Hyper, the big London store that stocks creations by young designers. She designed giant turbans from cashmere scarves for his most recent Chanel collection.

Miss Woodward says this is an excellent time for hat designers in London. The English ''season,'' which includes Ascot, summer weddings and the Queen's garden parties, insures a steady demand for smart hats. And youthful designers like Stephen Jones, who has created hats for the Princess of Wales, have created interest among young people.

She gets ideas from antique hats, old photographs and fashion histories. But her real inspiration, she said, comes from vintage movies, like ''Ninotchka,'' ''The Women'' and ''anything with Audrey Hepburn.''

V&A
http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O84322/hat-sex-on-the-brain/?print=1
Woodward trained at the Royan College of Art and made a name for herself in the 1980s designing surreal hats which frequently featured 3-dimensional objects, such as a miniature armchair or a torso worn on top of the head. She designed for Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel and went on to become head of Millinery and Fashion at London's Kensington and Chelsea College.


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