Shapeshifters: Interview with Stephen Jones

"I am an old punk at heart."

In 1980 after his training at Central Saint Martins in London, British milliner Stephen Jones (1957, Cheshire) opened his first shop in London. His extravagant and playful designs directly find their way to the international fashion world, Hollywood and the pop music scene. Jones’ curriculum reads like a laundry list of big names: from Grace Jones to Kylie Minogue and from Mugler to Comme des Garçons. He also works as a beauty and perfume consultant for Shiseido amongst others.

Fashion journalist and renowned stylist Haidee Findlay-Levin visited the opening of Arnhem Mode Biennale and spoke to Stephen Jones.
This text is part of the article she wrote for the American magazine Interview.

I took a few moments to chat directly with some of the show's participants and creative talent.
Milliner extraordinaire, Stephen Jones on his hothouse of ideas:

HAIDEE FINDLAY-LEVIN: Glasses are for me what hats are for you: I never leave the house without them. But can you wear them both at once?
STEPHEN JONES: You certainly can. Something that's upturned in front works best; otherwise your face recedes into the background.

1. HFL: Is there a case of overkill, especially around the face? Is less more? Is there ever too much?
   SJ:I love what Morris Lapidus, the architect of the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami said: "Too much is never enough!". I was working on a window display with John Galliano before the opening of his store, and the window dresser said: "Before you go out the door, always take one thing off!". And John's response was: "In the world of Galliano it's the opposite; we always add one thing on!". I subscribe to both views.

2. HFL: I think Italian Vogue's Anna Piaggi, one of your biggest supporters, subscribes to Galliano's point of view. But which one is more chic?
   SJ: People should move from restrain to excess, chic is different from one to another. I do believe in self-expression.

3. HFL: Do you have a muse?
   SJ: It would be too dangerous to have one person to inspire me.

4. HFL: Is there a perfect face for a hat?
   SJ: A strong jaw-line and a long neck certainly help.

5. HFL: Does this apply to both men and women?
   SJ: Yes, but it's really a question of balance, and whether your face is strong or soft.

6. HFL: What about different hats for different occasions? What is really appropriate if you believe in self-expression?
   SJ: Of course there are some that work best for work, others for dinner and something else for going to the races, such as Royal Ascot. [The British Royal horse race show, and greatest horserace show in the world, dating back almost 300 years] But I'm an old punk at heart—so I do love the idea of seeing a baseball cap at Ascot!

7. HFL: For this show everyone else exhibited in a wooden house. Yours is in glass. Why?
   SJ: Piet Paris told us about these wooden houses, but it bothered me that you couldn't see out—I thought of a glass house, like a hot house. This seemed appropriate for Holland with all its green or hothouses. The theme was about shape, but all hats are about shape anyway. The greenhouse idea led me to the idea of hats being as diverse in shape as flowers-so I chose hats with a floral or vegetable theme, and created a glass hothouse full of them!

From: Interview USA, September 2009
www.interviewmagazine.com

Watch the work of Haidee Findlay-Levin here.

http://www.stephenjonesmillinery.com