London Craft Week: Tipping Our Hats at Beyond The Brim
Today’s post is the final flourish in our celebration of London Craft Week, and we tip our hats (quite literally) to every artisan involved. It’s been a joyful whirl through creativity, heritage, and skill. And what better way to close than with feathers, felt, and fashion at Beyond the Brim: The Heritage of Hat Making, presented by The British Hat Guild at the Bank of England Museum?
Yes, hats at the Bank of England. While you might expect coins and currency, this May it's all about millinery. Running 12–16 May 2025, Beyond the Brim celebrates hats for all occasions. From Philip Treacy’s celestial Gilded Star to Elphaba’s iconic Wicked hat by Sophie Lambe and Paul Tazewell, each piece bridges past and present with craftsmanship that teeters on the magical.
'Aki' headpiece by Giulia Mio Millinery. Photo by ISoElegant.
From couture catwalks to the West End stage, milliners will also be lifting the lid - so to speak - on their craft, with event highlights including The Language of Millinery by Bridget Bailey and The Making of a Masterpiece, a conversation with Edwina Ibbotson, Dillon Wallwork, and Jess Collett. The venue itself is a treat: an 18th-century Stock Office with a Boris Anrep mosaic floor and arches by Sir John Soane. A fitting setting for an exhibition steeped in elegance and heritage.
Among the milliners featured are:
Edwina Ibbotson
Ibbotson’s journey into millinery began after she left photography school and discovered hat-making classes. She trained in New York at FIT while working as a nanny, then returned to London to study under top milliners at LCF and privately, before launching her own label in 1991 with support from the Prince’s Youth Business Trust.
Hat by Edwina Ibbotson
Now based in Battersea, she creates bespoke couture hats blending tradition and modernity. Her work has featured in major exhibitions and fashion publications. Passionate about preserving craft, she teaches regularly and mentors interns, helping keep millinery’s heritage skills alive for future generations.
Giulia Mio
Giulia Mio is an award-winning couture milliner from Italy, known for her innovative and nature-inspired designs. Originally trained as a costume designer, she discovered her passion for millinery while creating turbans for an opera and quickly shifted her focus to couture hats.
"The Iris 2.0" Cocktail Hat, by Giulia Mio.
Influenced by her grandmothers - one a dressmaker and the other a skilled embroiderer - Giulia values the importance of patience, precision, and heritage in her craft. With a keen eye for detail and a love for unexpected beauty, her bespoke hats reflect her artistic vision and dedication to craftsmanship.
Lucy Barlow
Barlow is a rare specialist in strip straw millinery, a heritage technique using coiled braid and vintage machines. She trained under Philip Somerville and later in Paris with Jean Barthet, before dedicating herself to reviving endangered hat-making skills. Using sustainable materials like hemp and raffia, Barlow crafts sleek, modern designs with deep traditional roots.
Designed by an Immigrant/Journey of Triumphs hat by Lucy Barlow.
Recent collaborations with fashion labels Labrum London and Kazna Asker have introduced her striking headwear to wider and more diverse audiences, affirming her role as both innovator and guardian of millinery heritage.
Ellie Vallerini
A couture milliner based in Norwich, Vallerini is known for her elegant hats and headdresses. After earning a BA in Contemporary Crafts from Falmouth, she trained with leading UK milliners and spent six years as Designer/Maker for Royal Milliner John Boyd, honing her skills in bespoke design.
Audrey Hat, by Ellie Vallerini.
Now working under her own label, Ellie collaborates on commissions for TV, film, and theatre. Her Italian heritage connects her to the origins of millinery in Milan, inspiring her chic, handcrafted designs. Past accolades include winning the V&A 'Inspired by' Textiles award, and in 2022, she was awarded a QEST Scholarship, recognising her commitment to traditional craftsmanship.
Savoca
Giuseppe Savoca is the founder of SAVOCA, a contemporary millinery label blending traditional craftsmanship with modern fashion. Trained in wood, leather, and fashion design, Savoca holds master’s degrees in both disciplines, and his passion for craft is rooted in a family legacy of tailoring.
Hickory cap by Savoca. Photo: @thackertime
Specialising in caps, hat blocking became his creative bridge between materials and heritage, allowing him to apply his meticulous handcraft skills to wearable art. Now based in London, he draws on his multicultural background and experience in luxury evening-wear to create sculptural headpieces that explore identity and ritual while honouring the rich traditions of millinery.
Josephine Willis
Specialising in historical headwear for screen, Willis' work credits span The Electrical Life of Louis Wain, Titanic, and Sense and Sensibility. With a background in costume design and hands-on training at Cosprop, her work reflects deep historical knowledge and a meticulous eye for period detail.
Hat for Katherine Parr(Alicia Vikander) in Firebrand, by Josephine Willis
Each hat is the product of extensive research, ensuring that silhouettes, trimmings, and construction techniques match the era they portray. It’s fashion history, but make it wearable.
Bridget Bailey
Celebrated for blurring the line between millinery and sculpture, Bailey draws on her textile background, transforming fabric into beetles, feathers, seed pods and other wonders of the natural world.
Bottle Garden, grown from millinery DNA, by Bridget Bailey.
Using ombre-dyed vintage sinamay with hand-rolled edges, vintage silk threads and techniques from an antique book on tying fishing flies, and foliage made from sculpted painted wire and hand-dyed velvet, her hats often resemble botanical illustrations come to life. She exhibits widely, and her work invites us to look more closely at nature, technique, and the surprising intersections of the two.
So if you’re in London next week, head to Bartholomew Lane. Entry’s free, creativity is flowing - and who knows? You might leave with a sudden urge to acquire a special cap for some doffing of your own.
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Further Information:
The British Hat Guild
Beyond the Brim: The Heritage of Hat Making
12-16 MAY 2025
Location: Bank of England Museum Bartholomew Lane, London EC2R 8AH
Opening Times: 10am - 5pm (late night Thursday until 8pm)
No entry fee or booking required for the exhibition.
London Craft Week
Image Credits:
Lead Image: Pink hat by Edwina Ibbotson. Photographer Diana Gomez
All other images as credited in photo captions.