HEAD MASTER
The inimitable millinery of Stephen Jones comes to Brighton’s Royal Pavilion this spring
‘It felt like Britain’s version of Rio de Janeiro. There was no doubt, this was the most exciting place in the country.’ Stephen Jones, the 61-year-old designer whose hats have made women from Princess Diana to Amal Clooney walk a little taller for over 40 years, is remembering arriving in Brighton for the first time as an art student. It was 1975. ‘The sense of freedom, the seaside architecture, the melting pot of people, the story of the Prince Regent… it blew me away.’
The town became something of a home-from-home for Jones over the years. And this month, he is coming back: more than 100 of his berets, bonnets and bowlers – along with Boy George’s Boudicca helmet, and a leather, tulle and organza bowl of French onion soup perched on a pillbox – are taking up residence in the spectacular salons of the Royal Pavilion. Unprecedented permission to exhibit in the ground-floor rooms was granted partly because of Jones’ enduring relationship with the 18th-century oriental palace, the inspiration for Chinoiserie-on-Sea, his 2012 collection. Furthermore, as he points out, ‘the Pavilion does, after all, actually look rather like a hat.’
On display will be boaters belonging to the British Royal Family and a golden Chinese-dragon headdress donated by New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. In the Music Room, pieces he has created for Dior over the past 23 years will be showcased with the outfits for which they were designed, and the Banqueting Room’s dining table will be laid for an imaginary dinner party, where the A-list guests are represented by their hats. ‘I never wanted to change the world,’ he reflects. ‘But I did want to wear a great hat to a good party, and have the time of my life.’
In many ways, if you were to crystallise Jones’ outlook and aesthetic into bricks and mortar, the result might be Brighton. ‘It was, and is, a wonderful microcosm, with people from everywhere,’ he says. ‘Visually and historically, I love the contrast between the elegance of the classic Regency architecture and the effervescence of the Royal Pavilion. It’s where Asian, Oriental and European design all mix together in a fabulous amalgam right by the English Channel.’ What better place for his wild, worldly creations to convene? ‘Stephen Jones Hats’ is at the Royal Pavilion (www. brightonmuseums.org.uk) from 7 February to 9 June.