Jean Paul Gaultier in San Francisco

While teaching in the San Francisco Bay area in late July, I was lucky enough to score tickets to the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibit at the deYoung Museum in Golden Gate Park.  I was fortunate enough to see the Yves Saint Laurent exhibit there in 2008, which was incredible, and I knew this exhibit would not disappoint.

If you aren't familiar with his work, you will at least be familiar with his work with the artist pictured below...in JPG.  Madonna during her Blonde Ambition tour in the '90's.

Lots of pictures in this post.  Lots.  So grab a cup of tea or a glass of wine and hold on to your hats, ladies and gentlemen.  Enjoy!

I was in this exhibit for 2.5 hours and I have friends who were there for over 4!  Lots to see and I've only posted about 25! (Oh, pictures WERE allowed in the exhibit, so I didn't violate any museum policy by taking these.  FYI.)

Below, while not part of the Gaultier exhibit, this fabulous sculpture hung at the elevator entrance to the exhibit.  Pretty cool, and soooo hat like. (That's the shadow in the background.)

White board greetings from the man himself, who was on-hand for the opening.

 WARNING!  Actually, I didn't see anything too exotic.  :-)

 The jacket/hood piece below was the very first thing you saw as you walked into the hall.  I absolutely love this and think it may be my favorite piece in the whole show.  But that might be naive of me.  I loved many of the pieces, especially the hats and headpieces, of which you will see quite a few in this post.

OK, I can't even describe the mannequins...who had moving facial features, almost holograms but not really.  I had been told about them before I got to the exhibit, but nothing quite prepared me for the awesomeness of these ladies and gentlemen.  Oh, and they sang...and chanted... and spoke...and cried...and laughed.  Incredible!

Love this ethereal photo.  All gauzy and angelic.

Gauzy and angelic.  Only two adjectives to describe this beautiful piece.  Smashing!

Another of the talking mannequins.  Love her hat!  So 1940's!

Close-up of the hat.  Felt.

Another 1940's inspired hat, also felt.

Beading!  Lots of beading!

You are going to see that I was mesmerized by the following headpiece.  You'll see it from many angles.  All wire and tulle and lace.

And the beautiful shadow it cast below.

Couple of Eiffel Tower shots. 

Street fashion.  Note that the dress is a black plastic garbage bag, the bracelet is a tin food can, the necklace is comprised of tops from tin food cans, steel wool scrubbies, and a tea steeper ball.

Madonna and Jean Paul with the 'infamous' Blonde Ambition corset.  Corsets are a favorite of Jean Paul's and a whole section of the exhibit was dedicated to corsets.

Below...iconic Jean Paul Gaultier!

I loved the whole Friday night at the deYoung!  There was a jazz band playing when I got there, then about 50 tango couples showed up to dance in the lobby (they are so serious!), and of course the exhibit.  So much electricity throughout the building.  If you are ever in the Bay area on a Friday night, I highly recommend...they are open late each Friday night for all kinds of events.

Next post will be about my second class at Lacis (first class is the last post here on the blog) and then later a post about my class at Wayne Wichern's millinery studio.

French Flowermaking and Wire Frames--Chicago

I recently taught two one-day classes at TLD Design Center in Westmont, IL (Chicago), a venue I've taught at many times. The classes were French Flowermaking and Wire: Fascinators and Bridal.

Below you see the class collection of finished flowers. Most were made from silk fabrics but I know of at least one cotton flower in the mix. Nice, huh?

I'll be teaching a flowermaking class in Berkeley, California, at the end of July. Be sure to check out my 'classes' page on my website for dates and other information.

Pretty petals all cut out according to the supplied patterns. Some ladies chose to create flowers with multi-colored, multi-textured petals. Some of these fabrics are hand-dyed. Beautiful!

Here's an example of a silk chiffon that has been hand-dyed. Lovely color combination. She created this dyed piece in an earlier class at TLD. TLD teaches many, many different fiber-related classes. Check them out!

Laura and Mary Alta begin the shaping process. Each petal is shaped with heated flower tools. Different flower tools create different shapes.

Kathleen and Peggy hard at work!

Mary Alta's completed flower. You will note that each and every one of these flowers is different, even though everyone started with the same pattern. This is the beauty of flowermaking! Variables include: different amounts of sizing on the fabrics, amount of heat and pressure on the petal pieces, the kind of fabric being used, the way the petals are assembled...all contribute to the uniqueness of each flower.

This particular flower is composed of embroidered cotton. Embroidered fabrics can sometimes be difficult to shape since the embroidery threads 'hold' the fabric in place and don't allow it to be shaped as easily, but this is so pretty!

Lovely and suitable for so many uses on hats, gowns, home decorations and more.

The second class I taught was meant to teach some very basic skills in working with millinery wire. Because of the Royal Wedding event and the attention it brought to both bridal and fascinator type headpieces, the class used the wire skills to create their own headpieces.

Peggy's completed form, wrapped in black eyelash yarn to cover the wire. I don't have a picture of her completed piece but I love the form just like it is!

Laura created a very nice form then wrapped it in hand-dyed silk.

Michele used a multi-toned yarn to cover her frame. Here you see her adding beauty-marked veiling to a certain 'space' in the form. Nice use of veiling! You'll see the completed piece further down the page.

Mother/daughter team of Dwana and Donna showing off their big-looped wire pieces. While these are not finished products, they do show great promise! Wish I could see their final embellishments!

Jennifer created a wonderful mass of wires, each wrapped in brightly colored Indian sari fabrics. What more do you need?

Pretty Edwardian-inspired wire frame, covered in lace, veiling, trims and a fabulous applique piece. Looks oh-so-vintage with a modern twist. Love it, Kathleen!

Michele's finished piece with some great 'bobbing' crystals. See the way she's added the veiling to just a small portion of 'space' on the frame? Very nice!

So that was Chicago! Next teaching gig is Washington, DC, where we'll be making Big Beautiful Brims--covering buckram frames and creating large fabric covered brims. Class is already full!

Be sure to check out the other classes I'll be teaching the rest of the year--www.hatshatshats.com/classes.htm.

Bridal Millinery--Birdcage Veils, Handmade Hats, etc.

I do quite a few bridal shows each year. Today was the last of the season. It was in an intimate setting with a select group of wedding professionals showing their wares--florists, dress salons, event planners, photographers, bakers, muscians, and a milliner!



Because of the lighting in my space, and because I chose a black and white color scheme, the photos have a beautiful monochromatic look which I really like. Wanted to share them with you.

Above is one of my handmade flowers, made of silk organdy and centered with AB rhinestones that sparkle like crazy. The necklaces are vintage and from the selection at my shop.

Beautiful Juliana necklace. This is a totally over-the-top necklace with AB rhinestones and crystals. Very collectible! Also very pretty on a bride...or mother-of-the-bride.

Shot of a toasty tulle headpiece spotted with pearls (L) and a huge, no, HUGE, handmade silk flower headpiece (R) with a vintage rhinestone pin as the center.

Winter wedding. Snow. Dr. Zhivago? Faux sheared beaver headband and hand muff. Both with vintage rhinestone brooches as accents. Vintage ostrich boa--full and fluffy.

Lovely beaded clutch and a white handmade silk rose. Love the shadows!

Here's to bridal season!

Silk Straw: Hat or Headpiece?

Several posts back I showed the results of a day's worth of dyeing sinamay and silk straw. At the end of the post I showed 3 different manipulations of the silk straw. While a couple of people liked example #2, as did I, it is almost impossible to re-configure this amazing fabric into a pre-conceived style. So I had to go with example #3, which I also liked...otherwise I would have taken IT apart and tried for another style I liked.



Anyway, here is the finished product, with added beading on the edges of the 'waves' and a swath of vintage veiling. Since I live near the ocean, the whole thing reminded me of waves, and water, and currents, and yes, a fishing net! Confession: I've actually added more beading, and larger beads, to the veiling since I took these photos. The extra beading added some weight to the veil, which held it in place better, without having to tack it down, plus it adds even further to the fishing net theme--the beads are splashes of water caught in the netting!

Side view. See the silk shine?

Close-up of the veiling. Gosh I wish I had a picture with the extra beading. Oh, well. I might post it later.

Headpieces for Thalian Hall--a Celebration!

I was recently asked to participate in the grand re-opening of one of our city's most recognizable and greatest landmarks--Thalian Hall. It was built in 1858 and is one of America's longest running playhouses. That's it on the left in the picture below.

Thalian was in need of a facelift. She was a beautiful old lady, but now is even more of a grande dame after her recent beautification.

A grand re-opening took place this past weekend--a black tie event to unveil the new Thalian Hall. Hostesses were in place around the 3 floors to guide guests throughout the evening. To differentiate them from the guests it was decided they should wear headpieces. That's where I come in. Below you will see the pieces I made to be worn both evenings.

Congratulations to the new Thalian Hall!