Lucy Barlow
Lucy apprenticed with Phillip Somerville of Bond Street in the late 1970’s and then went on to Paris to assist master milliner Jean Barthet on the collections of Yves St Laurent , Chanel, Balenciaga , Karl Lagerfeld and Claude Montana.
In 1990 she opened a shop in Portobello and her collections of stitched braid were quickly snapped up by stores including Barneys New York and Harvey Nichols. A licensing contract followed with Yaokichi, the largest hat distribution company in Japan.
Collaborations have since included Comme des Garcons, Costume National and The Royal Shakespeare Company and work has regularly featured in many magazines.
Having an extensive experience in all aspects of the millinery trade, particularly bespoke for dreadlocks, her great love has always remained ‘strip straw’. Now with a collection of 17 guinea machines, she works with a variety of braids including wheat, hemp and raffia that are all hand dyed in her workshop.
Recently completing an MA in Menswear Millinery at the Royal College of Art, Lucy’s dissertation ‘The Last Straw ?’ looks into strategies for the regeneration of the stitch straw industry in the UK. Her hope is to develop a specialist school that twins with an Italian factory that she has worked with for many years.
Recently awarded The Queen Elizabeth Scholarship for Craftsmanship she is now a QEST warrant holder and has been put on The Heritage Craft Association’s Red List for endangered crafts.