KEEPERS Singapore: Heads of State Millinery 2014/ 15 collection
updated the 6 October 2015 à 23:38
Singapore’s very own millinery takes inspiration from the deep, blue sea for its next Ultramarine collection of artistic hats and headpieces.
Somewhere along the line, hats escaped the realm of fashion and heads became unadorned, other than for times that called for practical sun-protection of course. However, fancy hats and fascinators need not be reserved for elegant and sometimes lavish tea parties, rather, these masterpieces deserve far more head time.
We’re also not the only ones championing for more hats, streetstyle around the world saw a resurgence of the accessory as did multiple runways at fashion weeks – or just look to the eccentric Anna Dello Russo for evidence. And boy are we glad that we have Singapore-based miliner, Heads of State Millinery to get our headpiece fix sorted.
Helmed by the self-taught designer, Chee Sau Fen utilises abaca fibres, hand-woven by the Daraghuyan tribe in Cebu, Philippines, to create hats that essentially will not require heat, moulds, glues, stiffening chemical sprays or wires to hold the pieces together. Instead, the eco-friendly fibre itself is flexible and sturdy enough to be shaped and sewn by hand.
With the tribal fibres as the focal point, the current collection, Ultramarine, dives deep underwater and eventually comes to shore with an exquisite lineup of hats inspired by jellyfishes – yes, those very sea creatures that threaten to sting us in the open ocean. For the designer, jellyfishes represented all that was enigmatic about the vast, deep blue sea, where they effortlessly flitted about without restraint. The free-floating movement intrigued Chee and ultimately gave rise to a series of hats that not only followed the sculptural forms of the creatures’ tentacles but of its glistening glow as well. It’s no wonder we’re enthralled by the collection.
However, instead of taking our words at face value, we suggest making a trip to KEEPERS, The Singapore Design Collective, where Heads of State Millinery is currently holding up at, and form your own judgement on the brand. If you’re lucky, you may even catch the designer meddling with her creations or chatting up customers, possibly dishing style advice on wearing hats in Singapore.
While our hat collection is at the moment, rather pathetic, it’s safe to say we’ll be doing some serious hat shopping now that we have such proficient milliners in town.
Heads of State Millinery is currently available at KEEPERS and the following stockists.
Tarandip Kaur
