Alva Clifford Wilson
1958 - 2022
Alva was an award winning milliner, visual artist and designer maker. Born in St Vincent and the Grenadines, Alva moved to the UK as a young child, and went to Hornsey College of Art before studying Fashion and Textiles at Middlesex University. On graduating university he became a pattern cutter until he began to design and make clothes and build up his own clientele. Alva’s entry into millinery was a happy accident; after breaking his foot running for a bus he was stuck at home and decided to learn hat making through experimentation and, in the mode that would characterise his career, sidestepped the norm to develop his own style. His first collection was purchased by The Hat Shop in Covent Garden which proved a springboard to sell to other outlets in the UK and and internationally including Japan, Paris and the US.
“Alva was never influenced by trends or fashion, as he had his very own take on what was good and what would sell, which was always completely new and always very exciting!”
In 1998 Alva opened the Hat Gallery in East London, he used unconventional and recyclable materials to create attention grabbing headwear that challenged traditional techniques and proved that style and environmental awareness need not be mutually exclusive. Guild member, Georgina Abbott of London Hat week says of Alva:
“...the way he handled materials was careful, like he was dealing with precious pieces even though they could be old ends of ribbon or offcuts of straw. He had a way of recognising the value of things and describing them so that they sounded amazing even if they were actually quite humble. It was a real skill and his students benefited from that positivity.”
Over the course of his career he collaborated with costume and fashion designers as well as creating hats for film, theatre and musicians. His highly entertaining and informative talks Pop your Collar and Dressed to the Nines combined his knowledge and love of fashion from a cultural and social perspective with an emphasis on the Black British and Black immigrant experience in the UK; with the later talk drawing on his own heritage to celebrate the contribution and influence that the Windrush generation’s style had on British fashion and trends. He lectured at universities and colleges and also taught millinery where his students could experience first hand his happy nature and encouraging words.
2019 saw his first solo exhibition at Wardown Museum & Art Gallery in Luton where he was milliner in residence. The exhibition was funded by the Arts Council England and included workshops for people who had previously worked in the hat industry and those living in sheltered housing.
In November 2022 Alva was invited to a special reception at Buckingham Palace to meet King Charles in recognition of his contribution to the importance of small business to the UK economy.
Alva will be dearly missed by his friends and colleagues within the British Hat Guild and wider millinery community. Under the direction of Carole Denford, fundraising was undertaken in order to create a millinery award in Alva’s name. The Guild will announce further details in due course.
Sources:
With thanks to HATalk Magazine and Carole Denford for the information contained in this article. Dressed to the Nines article by Alva Wilson.