"WHILE the likes of Marc Jacobs and Carolina Herrera were captivating the fashion press in New York this week, the inaugural Australian International Millinery Forum was turning heads in rural NSW.
More than 140 people gathered in Wagga Wagga for five days of workshops such as Wicked Wire, Creating with Crinoline and Ruche, Gather 'n Roll. 'This is our way of putting our city on the map,' says organiser Linda Tillman. 'I think we have a chance of becoming the capital of hat-making.'
No representatives from Vogue or Harper's Bazaar were on hand to see the 12 tutors from Australia, Germany, Austria and the US test the millinery mettle of participants, but Tillman is adamant that hats engage a wide community in the creative aspects of fashion.
"The forum grew out of the courses in millinery we have been running at Charles Sturt University," Tillman says. "Through these courses we have developed quite a strong millinery community in town and they were eager to take their skills to the next level."
Tillman went straight to Australia's top hatters, engaging Melbourne Cup favourite Peter Jago, Neil Grigg, theatrical designer Jean Carroll and Richard Nylon to take part in the forum. Germany's Constance Willems, Austrian Christine Rohr-Bernard, and Americans Eia Radosavljevic and Jan Wutkowski were enlisted to introduce international techniques.
"It's a pretty courageous thing they're doing here," says Wutkowski, a former research librarian. "In the US the profile of milliners is much lower. In the south people wear hats for shade and in the north they wear them for warmth, so our designs tend to be more functional.
"People here like a touch of glamour that will stand out at a wedding or function. There is certainly a 'look at me' factor to the Australian hats, which suits the personality of the people. I mean everyone here is having fun with something on their head."
Armed with hat blocks, metres of felt, sinamay and bags of fabric flowers the forum's participants kept a closer eye on their teachers and classmates than the new trends trotted out on the New York catwalk.
"Fashion obviously does impact on what we create," says Wutkowski. "Trends filter through but hat-makers are their own designers. They find inspiration in what's around, how they're feeling and the materials they use."
Tillman says that most participants in the workshops were hobbyists eager to make an impression at the Murrumbidgee Turf Club's Fashions on the Field in May, or simply to satisfy a creative itch. "Hats are an easy way to embrace fashion," she says. "You don't have to be young, thin and rich to look good in a hat." It helps, however, if you're a woman. Only six men braved the forum.
Joining the locals were enthusiasts from around the country as well as 20 international visitors who responded to advertisements in the millinery bible, The Hat magazine.
"I left home on Saturday and arrived here on Monday," says Bimbo Sofeso, who has been making hats in Nigeria for 20 years. "It's a long way to come but the workshops here are particularly interesting and in this business it's important to keep learning. I would never have thought of making a hat from crinoline before."
Sofeso's clientele at her business, Bimby Lads, in Lagos, would reach for their rosary beads at the thought of wearing hats to a racing carnival, preferring to parade their purchases at church. "For us Sunday is a big affair," Sofeso says. "Going to church is a special occasion and that's when we wear our hats."
As well as impressing fellow parishioners, hats in Nigeria often signify social allegiances. "You might belong to a ladies society who all wear fuschia hats. It's a part of your uniform."
Sofeso was surprised at the Australian approach to millinery. "It really is amazing to come to the end of the earth and discover such creativity. People are fearless with what they make. At home we always thought England was the home of creativity but what's happening in Wagga Wagga is certainly impressive."
Plans for the forum to become an annual event are being considered and Tillman is waiting for feedback from locals who attended Grigg's Fascinator or Fantasiser class and Wutkowski's demonstration of the holiday packable hat.
"Starting a festival is a lot like hat-making itself," Tillman says. "You begin with baby steps by taking some feathers or ribbon and making a fascinator. But before too long you've caught the bug and you're wearing a wide-brimmed masterpiece."
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