‘From Charity Shop to Ascot’

An Upcycling Challenge


Launching Monday 6th January 2025


LOOKING FABULOUS AT ASCOT SHOULDN’T COST THE EARTH

The British Hat Guild is launching an exciting millinery competition ahead of the upcoming exhibition: ‘Making Headway; Celebrating Sustainability in Hats’.

This competition focuses on upcycling, challenging participants to transform discarded charity shop hats into showstopping creations perfect for Royal Ascot. It's a fantastic opportunity to breathe new life into old hats and to display your creativity!

Competition brief
To design and make a hat suitable for Royal Ascot, made entirely* from upcycled hats, either bought from a charity shop or simply second-hand hats.

Eligibility
The competition is open to UK entries only, and entrants cannot be a member of The British Hat Guild.

How to enter
This is a photo-based competition, please send your images to: charityshoptoascot@gmail.com
See below for full details of image requirements and Terms & Conditions.

Deadline
The deadline for entries is 30th April 2025.


PRIZES

The winner will…

  • Have their hat exhibited at ‘Making Headway; Celebrating Sustainability in Hats’ held in Luton, alongside some of the top milliners in the UK who are leading the way in sustainability.

  • Receive half a day’s mentoring and workshop access at the fabulous Majesa/The Panama Hat Company showroom and factory in Luton.

  • Receive one year’s free subscription to both The Hat Magazine and HATalk e-magazine. 

  • Have their winning design feature in The Hat Magazine and be included in The British Hat Guild’s media communication of the exhibition.

Second and third places will receive one year’s free subscription to HATalk e-Magazine and will feature in The Hat Magazine alongside the winner.


Competition Terms & Conditions

Please read the following carefully before submitting your entry

  1. There is no fee to enter this competition.

  2. *Entrants may use up to a maximum of 3 charity/second hand hats from which to make their Ascot hat. The final hat should conform to the Royal Ascot Royal Enclosure dress code requirements ie. must have a 4”/10cm base to cover the crown of the head. See details here: https://www.ascot.com/royal-ascot/what-to-wear-royal-enclosure

  3. The final hat should not contain any other materials of your own, other than materials which are not visible eg. construction and head-fitting materials such as canvas/fosshape/wire. 

  4. The hat should be made to fit a head size of 57cm/22.5”

  5. Entrants should send approx 250 words of explanation, describing their piece and/or process.

  6. Entrants should send a total of 10 photos: 3 pictures of the ‘before’ hat(s); 3 pictures of the finished Ascot hat from the front, back and side; 1 picture of your entry on a real person; 3 close-up pictures of the finished hat showing detail of edging/trim etc. 

Photo requirements:

  • The photos do not have to be professionally taken and you can use your phone. There are many sites online with advice on how best to take product photos with your phone such as: https://www.pixelcut.ai/learn/product-photos-smartphone

  • No collages are allowed and each image should be a single view.

  • The images should be either PNG or JPEG files.

  • All images should be at least 2000 pixels wide x 2000 pixels high, but do not have to be square.

  • Images should not have added text.

  • Videos are not allowed.

  • Entries should be submitted by email and/or by WeTransfer to: charityshoptoascot@gmail.com by 23.59 (GMT) 30th April 2025.  

  • Photos may be submitted over more than one email if necessary, please label 1 of 2 etc. The images can be submitted by using WeTransfer http://wetransfer.com

7. The three winners will be chosen by a panel of expert judges who will focus on the transformation of the charity shop hat(s) and the originality of the final Ascot worthy design, as well as the quality of craftsmanship. 

8. The judges will make their decision based on the images you submit, so please provide high quality photographs of your work.

9. The allocation of prizes is at the sole discretion of the competition organisers.

10. The judges’ decision is final. No further correspondence will be entered into upon their decision. Unfortunately, it will not be possible to provide individual feedback on competition entries.

11. Entrants agree to give permission for all images and text to be reproduced for the purposes of marketing and advertising, and for the winning hat to be worn for the purposes of marketing and advertising.

12. The winner agrees to allow their hat to be exhibited at The Hat Works, Luton for the duration of the two months of The British Hat Guild Making Headway exhibition.

The launch of the exhibition is 20th September 2025. The winners will be presented with their prizes on this day.

For further information please email Mavi Tzaig: charityshoptoascot@gmail.com

‘Making Headway: Celebrating Sustainability in Hats’ Exhibition

20th September – 14th November 2025

The competition is being launched in conjunction with The British Hat Guild’s ‘Making Headway: Celebrating Sustainability in Hats’ exhibition which will run for two months in Luton starting on 20th September 2025.  

The Luton exhibition will take advantage of the fantastic space at The Hat Works and The Hat Factory Arts Centre, with a full opening day programme showcasing some of the ways the hat industry is adapting to become more sustainable, whether that be through use of innovative new materials, design, processes, education or collaborations. 

More information on this exciting exhibition coming soon…