Thursday, June 2, 2011

Philip Treacy-The Mad Hatter

PhilipTreacy is an Irish milliner and is considered the most famous milliner and hat designer alive. He is amongst the ten most recognised fashion designers in the world. If you watched the royal wedding you would have seen some of his creations. His hats are amazing!
Image found at: http://dating.wazaar.info/royal-wedding-adorned-with-philip-treacy-hats-designer-made-36-hats-for-important-guests.html?lang=de
Philip was born in 1967 in a tiny village called Ahascragh in County Galway west of Ireland. He is one of 9 children, 7 brothers and a sister. Their house was across the road from a church and Philip says:”As a small child I loved to watch weddings there. They were the equivalent of fashion shows to me. The dresses that people wore, I couldn’t believe them, they were incredible. It seemed so glamorous to see these creatures appear in these extra ordinary clothes, as we didn’t have much glamour where I came from.”
Philip started sewing at the age of 5 where he started making dresses and hats for his sister’s dolls from the feathers he found in the garden from his mothers chickens, ducks, geese and pheasants.
In 1985 Treacy moved to Dublin where he studied fashion at the National College of art and design. He says;”I would make hats as a hobby to go with the outfits I designed.” At the age of 21 he won a position in the MA fashion design course at the Royal college of Art in London and graduated in 1990.Philip set up a workshop in his basement. Treacy opened his first store in 1993,from then on he has won many awards and designed hats for many famous people including Alexander McQueen's white Haute Couture collection, for Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel and Givenchy in Paris. He has designed hats for many films such as the films. He designed the hat Sarah Jessica Parker's wore for the premier of Sex and the City. Recently we saw that Thirty-six of Treacy's hats were worn at the Royal wedding, such as the hat worn by Princess Beatrice of York.

The design I chose is a hat he made for a competition Lyon tea was running. The hat was on display at the Lyons Gold Blend tent at the Taste of Dublin in June 2009.

There are many design element displayed in this hat. This design is very asymmetrical but yet still has balance the bulge on the left hand side is counteracted by the long wispy feathers on the left. Contrast is illustrated very well in this design by using black and red feathers, the red stands out dramatically against the black which is very effective. The way the feathers are placed created a feeling of form and volume. Movement is also created by the specific way the feathers are placed and our eyes are directed by the curved lines the feathers create from left to right. The balance of the swooping and curving lines created by the feathers, it sits naturally upon a person’s head, the proportions of the hat compliment those of the body and the lines extend and dramatize the planes of the face. The overall composition of the hat is very well thought out.
This hat was inspired by the fluid movement of how Lyon Gold Blend tea swirls in the cup as it is poured and how the tea bag and leaves infuse the water.The hat is made of hand died pheasant feathers (the black feathers) and red coq feathers all curled using Treacy’s signature technique. Each and every feather was shaped curled and placed individually onto the hat to create this eye-catching three dimensional masterpiece.

These are more of his creations you may recognise:
Image found at: http://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/fashion-articles/the-magic-of-fashion-1008
 
Image found at: http://sognisorrisi.blogspot.com/2011/04/guest-post-dressing-for-royal-wedding.html

References:
O'Connor,A.(2009).Philip Treacy &Lyons Tea[internet].available from http://iblogfashion.blogspot.com/2009/06/philip-treacy-lyons-tea.html[acessed on 28 may 2011]
Benét, S. TREACY, Philip [internet].fashion encyclopedia. available from http://www.fashionencyclopedia.com/To-Vi/Treacy-Philip.html#ixzz1NdU1DAXV [ accessed on on 28may 2011]
Philip Treacy official website available on http://www.philiptreacy.co.uk/[accessed on 28 may 2011]
FitzGerald,K / Lamont,C. PHILIP TREACY UNVEILS LYONS GOLD BLEND INSPIRED HAT[internet].available from http://www.lyonstea.ie/pressrelease_6.pdf [accessed on 28 may 2011]

The Cluch(2009).Philip Treacy: the Culch.ie interview[internet].available from http://www.culch.ie/2009/06/03/philip-treacy-the-culchie-interview/[acessed on 28 may 2011]


Bibliography:
O'Connor,A.(2009).Philip Treacy &Lyons Tea[internet].available from http://iblogfashion.blogspot.com/2009/06/philip-treacy-lyons-tea.html[acessed on 28 may 2011]
Benét, S. TREACY, Philip [internet].fashion encyclopedia. available from http://www.fashionencyclopedia.com/To-Vi/Treacy-Philip.html#ixzz1NdU1DAXV[accassed on 28may 2011]
Philip Treacy official website available on http://www.philiptreacy.co.uk/[accessed on 28 may 2011]
FitzGerald,K / Lamont,C. PHILIP TREACY UNVEILS LYONS GOLD BLEND INSPIRED HAT[internet].available from http://www.lyonstea.ie/pressrelease_6.pdf[acessed on 28 may 2011]

The Cluch(2009).Philip Treacy: the Culch.ie interview[internet].available from http://www.culch.ie/2009/06/03/philip-treacy-the-culchie-interview/[acessed on 28 may 2011]