Phillip Treacy

Phillip Treacy is an Irish milliner who studied fashion at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin. “Nobody really had much time for the hat because it was a fashion school, but there did come a point when I was more interested in making the hats than the outfits.” Treacy gained a place on the MA fashion design course at the Royal College of Art. Where he met Issabella Blow and was asked to design a head piece for her wedding. Once graduated with first class honours, Treacy established his own company and was in 1991 introduced to Karl Lagerfeld, chief designer at Chanel. He went on to collaborate with Chanel and design hats for the next 10 years and began to design for the high street. “Hats are for everyone. We all have a head so we have the possibility to wear a hat.” In 1994 Treacy opened his first shop at 63 Elizabeth Street.

In 1999 he began to design hats for Alexander McQueen Haute Couture Collection at Givenchy. “Chinese Garden” Headdress, spring/summer 2005, was a memorable head piece. Made from cork; intricate cut cork pagoda, birds and trees were assembled in to a fantasy world. Since, Treacy has collaborated with many designers and fashion houses including Ralph Lauren, Donna Karen and Rifat Ozbek and also designed for the royal ballet, films and theatre productions.