Made in collaboration with drag artist & designer Gloria Swansong. @gloria_swansong

Photography of Gloria by Anthony Cunanan

Hair by Bryan Gonzalez

Ensemble by Gloria Swansong

In this collection are hats that resemble imagined plants and animals. These creatures are extremely rare and illusive: they are presented as if in a natural history museum, on custom made stanchions for your inspection. Contemplating these exotic specimens, notice the similarities they share to more ubiquitous species: a bit of coral, crustacean, or beetle.

Are these strange specimen things we want to wear? Are they even wearable to begin with? Most animals are not. What drives our desire to cover our heads and bodies with bits of other heads and bodies? Perhaps it is beauty. The breadth of nature’s biological mutations saves us from mundanity. Just like water, food, and shelter, the act of decoration is a basic necessity. Since the end of our quadruped days, humans have supplemented their delicate skin and flat hair with more exciting natural bi-products from all over the animal kingdom. Be it furs, feathers, beetle’s wings, or wool, animals have been a fruitful source for creative body adornments.

This human need has driven many species to endangerment and some to extinction. Hats are the unassuming culprit for the destruction of exotic bird populations resulting in subsequent laws and regulations against using their feathers. Roosters and Ostriches are birds who have been domesticated, and thus their feathers unregulated.

These pieces are designed to be avant-garde but made using traditional millinery techniques. Natural forms are fashioned from human hands with fairy-like fingers. Feathers are manipulated and stitched to look as if they are growing organically out of a felt or straw base.

While these creatures before you may seem aquatic or alien or something new all together, they are in fact much more common. They are just hats.

Once upon a midnight dreary, this hat of feathers makes no head weary. The Raven is a dark, but whimsical piece made from a blocked velour felt and individually sewn feathers.

The top hat is one of the most iconic styles in all headwear. The seemingly simple structure of this hat is achieved through carefully finessed tension over a meticulously built structure. My take on this classic design includes addition grosgrain ribbon and a fanciful lace lining.

According to Freud (1915), the unconscious mind is the primary source of human behavior. Like an iceberg, the most important part of the mind is the part you cannot see. The shape of this hat woke me up in the middle of the night, not letting me return to my unconscious sleep until it was out of my head and sketched out. This design wraps organically around the head, occasionally revealing the tip of a crystalline depth.

Peacocks are known for their piercing calls and extravagant plumage, which they reveal as part of a courtship ritual. While the term Peacock is reserved for male peafowl, humans of all genders attract mates while wearing this striking chapeau.

A soft rotund shape with a single crack, a fracture that reveals crystalline innards. This blocked velour felt hat is embellished with Swarovski crystals.

Low-carb and high in antioxidants, this blocked felt hat is sophisticated and refreshing. When dressing, add your Simple Green on top and you’ll feel like Caesar all day.

A single petal wrapped around its central stamen. This Calla Lily inspired piece is constructed with a wire base covered in an ombre of tulle. Tipped with a dew of delicate Swarovski pearls, Lily offers its wearer the intimacy of living inside a flower or shell.

Wrapped and wrapped and wrapped and wrapped. Versions of draped headwear exist in cultures all over the world. Some are worn for religious reasons, others for their ease and beauty. I wear mine when I have a bad hair day and need to cover it all up.

When going to the opera, a dramatic look is essential. And what could be more operatic than a free-form swirling collar made of emerald green straw? Only the magic of Puccini and Wagner could take the attention off your neck. Looking so sensational, you’ll never want to hear the fat lady sing.

Inspired by the work of Ruth Asawa, I crocheted steel wire into a spiral bowl shape. Experimenting with lightness and transparency of an otherwise heavy, dense, and solid material, I cast bronze around the entangled loops of the wire structure. Through the casting process, air bubbles left open spaces to see the now trapped crocheted steel. Wearing this piece as a hat tests the limits of a wearable material and the muscles in my neck.

Classic and sophisticated. This hat is made with a decorative tweed covered in a sprinkle of Swarovski pearls. The pillbox is a hat so simple, it’s hard not to look stylish while wearing one. Even if you’re a frog.

ostrich-tatious

os·​trich·​ta·​tious | \ ˌä-strich-ˈtā-shəs \

adjective

: attracting or seeking to attract attention, admiration, or envy often by donning ostrich feathers : overly elaborate or conspicuous use of ostrich feathers

Fashion designer Savanna Goble commissioned two designs for her 2018 collection, Sojourn Sisters. Inspired by classic biker gang styles with a feminist twist, these hats are made to be on the move.

https://www.savannagoble.com/#/sojourn-sisters/

Collaborating with fashion designer Claire Lyons, I designed headwear for her 2019 collection, Wrapped Up. Inspired by feelings of inadequacy, these hats turn their wearer into a gift for those around them.

https://www.shopclairelyons.com/lookbook