The legendary British milliner Stephen Jones wowed the audience at London Fashion Week with his Autumn-Winter 2025 collection. In a mix of creativity and sensory experience, guests stepped into a studio in central London on Friday, where they explored hats made of satin, tartan, glass, and even chocolate.
A chocolate top hat featuring a bite-like hole drew gasps of fascination and laughter. Jones has designed for Dior, and in the presentation of his later forms, he focused on the interplay of the senses-sight, taste, and touch.
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Art of Stephen Jones
Stephen spoke to AFP at his studio, “I was thinking about how people connected through hats, and so it’s about sight, and taste, and touch.” This collection featured elements that coined a new term: fascinators with wafting feathers; headbands that looked like they were dipped in raging ice beads; and very confident, playful caps.
He added, “What is fashion? A uniform, self-expression? Practicality? Fun? That’s what this collection alludes to.” The sensory was extended even further than that; working in Jones’s creations offered innumerable chances to experience a transformative style.
One was the most talked about Willy Wonka-inspired top hat, coming from the ice queen patissière of Paris, Jana Lai. “I just got an order for this edible hat: someone wants to wear it to their birthday party,” said Jones. “It can be worn by anyone not when it is hot outside,” he joked.
Iconic Hats
Jones has enjoyed a long career, ranging from designing plush berets for Princess Diana to creating head-turning pieces for Dior’s runway. His retrospective career entitled Stephen Jones, Chapeaux d’Artiste, features his 170 most important hats now at the Palais Galliera, Paris.
And despite his reverence in the field of millinery, he still harbors one secret dream- to design for Queen Camilla. “Maybe one day,” he mused.
