Past Masters
The world of British millinery and hat making is constantly evolving thanks to the influence of many wonderful teachers, designers, makers, and companies that are no longer with us. Their skills, passion and vision live on through their many former students, collaborators and customers. We acknowledge those who have impacted our careers. Very sadly, our first Past Master is one of our own members, Alva Wilson.
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.
Marie O’Regan
1925 - 2023
The personal and working history of Marie O’ Regan is an incredible example of resilience, talent and will-power.
Born in Turkey of Armenian parents in 1925, at the age of 4 with her mother and sister went to Paris to join her father and brother in Paris. On arrival they found that her father had died. In Paris she was taught the fundamental basics of millinery at school, and she loved it so much that she immediately started to experiment with an old hat that belonged to her mother, using only steam and an old saucepan as a block.
Her talent was noted by a friend of the family, who later introduced the young 14 years old Marie to Madame Susie (a big name in Paris at the time) who took her to work in her atelier. After a few years (and WW2) Marie had enough knowledge to be employed as a milliner in a larger firm, Legroux Soeurs, where she stayed for a couple of years.
Her desire was to design hats, not just make them for others, but to do it she had to move to another company, Maude Roser, where she worked more closely with the designer, creating hats under the company name. A few years later, she moved to another company, Gilbert Orcel, where she was again employed for her innovative designing skills and soon, she started managing the workroom.
In 1959 she moved to London and started to work for Otto Lucas, but the “production mentality” of the atelier didn’t suit her very much, so she took the opportunity to change again and moved to work for the Dior in London. She was in-charge of the entire workroom, and it was there that two students from London College of Fashion, who were doing work experience, suggested Maire to come and teach at the college.
Marie decided it was the perfect moment to change again and was to quickly become a trusted and loved full-time teacher at the London College of Fashion. She then later moved to teach millinery at the Royal College of Art, shaping and developing a department that was in its infancy at the time, and helping the students to acquire a more sculptural and artistic approach to designing hats.
While teaching, she was still freelancing for other milliners, like Philip Somerville and Freddie Fox. She made several hats that were worn by the Queen, but under someone else’s label. Finally, in the mid 1970s, she was introduced to Ian Thomas, a fashion designer who was looking for an experienced milliner to design and make hats to compliment the outfits he was making for the Queen. The partnership worked beautifully, and Maire made many hats for Her Majesty.
During one of the fittings with the Queen, Marie revealed that she met the then young princess back in Paris in 1938, when the Royal Family was in an official visit. She was one of the schoolgirls greeting them at the train station and offering flowers.
When she decided to retire, she still couldn’t keep away from hats and teaching, so she started to welcome students in her home and teach from there. She stopped in 2020 but continued to welcome friends and former students and continued her love of hats.
Marie died at home on 10th March 2023.
Marie’s skills and passion were beautifully shown in a film by Mike Southern who also wrote an obituary for Marie that appeared in The Guardian.
Further Reading:
The Millinery Lesson by Mike Southon
The Guardian Fashion - obituary of Marie O’Regan by Mike Southon