Heads up: Hats hot as fashion accessory
trade show that took place recently in Paris, has nearly doubled in the past three years, organizers said.
Marquet’s Tutti Frutti and Walt Disneyinspired creations have just been admitted to the Designers Apartment showroom for young designers, held during Paris Fashion Week, which recently took place. Her hats, made in a Paris cellar, have become so popular, particularly among young Asian customers, that she recently started offering matching coats and dresses.
The hat market is worth around $15 billion annually, according to the market-research company Euromonitor — a fraction of the global $52 billion handbag market.
But even beyond Paris, in cities such as New York and Los Angeles where there are vibrant fashion scenes, hat makers such as Janessa Leone, Gigi Burris and Gladys Tamez are expanding quickly, with orders piling in from around the world.
And retailers from Paris, London and Shanghai all said they had noticed a clear uptick in hat sales. Both the upmarket department stores Le Bon Marche in Paris, owned by LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, and Printemps have noticed increased demand in the past three seasons among women as well as men.
The rival Lane Crawford, with department stores in Hong Kong and mainland China, said it has just increased its hat purchases by 50 percent, and they are among its strongest-selling fashion accessories.
“Most popular styles are reworked classics, like the fedora, Panama and hats with brims, for both men and women,” said Andrew Keith, the company’s president. “Our customers have mentioned that they enjoy wearing hats on casual days off — a good way for them to go natural while still looking fashionable and stylish.”