While Prada resurrected the turban from fashion obscurity with a particularly riveting SS07 collection, after a short absence the centuries-old accessory is back. Vogue Editor-at-Large Andre Leon Talley went through a turban- phase last summer. Meanwhile, Marc Jacobs included a handful of silk varieties on his namesake runway at New York Fashion Week this spring. And, with the help of milliner Stephen Jones, model Kate Moss crafted her own gold version, which she wore earlier this month to Vogue’s annual Costume Gala at the Metropolitan Museum. But perhaps some credit for the turban’s recent return to the sartorial spotlight is owed to Edie Beale. After all, the iconic relative of Jackie O who was first canonized in the Maysles' unforgettable documentary Grey Gardens and subsequent Broadway show and HBO drama, was perfecting the head-wrap long before Miuccia entered onto the scene.
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This fitted, bell-shaped chapeau first gained popularity in the 1920s, but has experienced a recent revival. Aretha Franklin wore a now world-famous version outfitted with a large, bedazzled bow to President Barack Obama’s inauguration. The hat, which came courtesy of milliner Luke Song, was such a hit that the Detroit hat maker was subsequently bombarded with orders. Gap seems to have taken notice too; the brand’s not-yet-released collaboration with CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund nominees like Vena Cava and Alexander Wang includes a few khaki-colored cloches. And, with yet another Coco Chanel biopic, starring Audrey Tautou, soon-to-be released (the fashion designer was often photographed in a snug-fitting cloche hat), as well as the 1920s-set Cherie starring Michelle Pfeiffer in theaters soon, there’s likely plenty more cloche action to come.
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Named after a play based on George du Maurier’s 1894 novel Trilby, this classic hat, like the cloche, became popular during the ‘20s. It resembles another classic hat style—the fedora—but differs in its slightly smaller brim. The Trilby surfaced on Marc Jacobs’ SS09 Marc by Marc runway. And it’s long been the headgear of choice for Pete Doherty, the rocker and former flame of Kate Moss. Justin Timberlake has also been seen sporting the style recently, along with his other new obsession: thick-rimmed black glasses.
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Ang Lee’s Taking Woodstock may have premiered in Cannes Sunday, but stateside, flower-children-approved headgear has been making a comeback for some time. Diane Von Furstenberg spearheaded the hippie headband’s high-fashion revival with her SS09 runway show, which included half-a-dozen flowered headdresses. Bat for Lashes’ frontwoman Natasha Khan seemingly never leaves home without a feathered or beaded version. And among the numerous Hollywood starlets that have taken to wearing headdresses, Mischa Barton is perhaps their biggest supporter. Earlier this month the former OC star debuted a headband line she designed with designer Stacey Lapidus, which includes both beaded headbands and a gold, Grecian-esque head wrap.
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No longer just for Venetian, gondola-steering gents, the Boater has become a chapeau of choice among more sartorially adventurous men. Marc Jacobs included straw versions on his Marc by Marc runway at New York Fashion Week in February. Around the same time, fashion blog A Continuous Lean posed the question: “Will the boater be that hat of the summer?” The always impeccably dressed André Benjamin (aka André 3000 of OutKast) has long been a fan of the straw boater, and before long he might be introducing his own versions by way of his clothing line, Benjamin Bixby.
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From Prohibition-era gangsters and Humphrey Bogart, to the modern day hipster, the fedora has for decades been associated with counterculture figures. Today the style is alive and well: Designer Scott Sternberg included fedoras in his SS09 collection for Band of Outsiders. Meanwhile seemingly half of Hollywood— Johnny Depp, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Richie, and Ed Westwick included—has been photographed sporting fedoras in recent months. And let’s not forget paparazzi favorite, DJ Samantha Ronson, whose on-and-off-again relationship with Lindsay Lohan has kept her face and her signature black fedora in weeklies for months.
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John Bartlett resurrected this classic hat style for his FW09 runway presentation in New York, and, given the economic climate, it seems prime time that the Depression-era newsboy cap would come back into style. With its unisex appeal— Brad Pitt and Victoria Beckham alike are fans—and blue-collar roots, the newsboy is poised to be a potential hat favorite during the economic downturn.
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Headgear fit for intergalactic travel surfaced on Giles Deacon’s London catwalk as part of his SS09 collection. Calling to mind Ms. Pac-Man, Giles’ collection included orbital helmets in pastel pink and yellow, as well as reflective black and red. Meanwhile, Karl Lagerfeld introduced oversized mink-covered motorcycle helmets on his runway (with iPod capability to boot), which look equally appropriate for 2001 as 2009, this past Paris Fashion Week. Not to mention Paris’ techno duo Daft Punk have long been aboard the robot-esque helmet bandwagon. But Lady Gaga is arguably the first fashion follower to translate the look from catwalk to daily life (or, at least, network TV). The platinum blond songstress recently wore an otherworldly creation from milliner Nasir Mazhar on Ellen’s eponymous show.
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