First look: Stephen Jones’ extraordinary headwear to be celebrated in Paris exhibition

The British milliner Stephen Jones, known for his ‘transformative and fun’ headwear – as the designer described in his 2016 Rizzoli-published tome, Souvenirs – is to be celebrated in a new exhibition at Paris’s Palais Galliera gallery, it has been announced today (18 July 2024).

Titled ‘Stephen Jones, chapeaux d'artiste’ (‘hats of an artist’), the career-spaning exhibition will encompass four decades of creation, from Jones’ rise to prominence in the early 1980s as part of the Blitz Kid and New Romantic movements – epitomised by the liberated, outré outfits worn by figures like Leigh Bowery and Boy George – to the heights of haute couture, creating millinery for Dior, Jean-Paul Gaultier and Thierry Mugler, among others.

First look: Stephen Jones at Paris’ Palais Galliera

Having previously been celebrated in London with ‘Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones’, a 2009 exhibition at the V&A, the Palais Galliera show will shed particular light on his work in Paris. It is here, says curator Miren Arzalluz – who has worked on the exhibition alongside Jones, the exhibition’s artistic advisor – that ‘his vision of fashion and his creative processes were completely transformed.’

Indeed, it was his time with John Galliano at Dior which would prove formative, working in creative synergy with the designer to dream up some of fashion’s most arresting headwear. It is a house that Jones continues to work with today, collaborating with both Kim Jones at Dior Men, and Maria Grazia Chiuri on womenswear and haute couture. Several of these works will feature in the exhibition.

Elsewhere, objects have been chosen for the way they pay ode to the Parisian woman and her dress codes, or to the city’s couturiers. Spanning 400 works, including 170 hats, other ephemera will include preparatory drawings, archival photographs and footage from fashion shows, some of which has never been previously displayed. The organisers call him ‘the most ‘Frenchified’ of English milliners, endowing Paris fashion with his bold energy and boundless creativity’.

The exhibition will open in October 2024, marking the first time that the Palais Galliera has celebrated a single accessory – in this case the hat – in over four decades. It is a testament to Jones’ enduring appeal, which has seen his headwear worn by celebrities, royals and models alike.

‘Stephen Jones, chapeaux d'artiste’ runs at Palais Galliera, musée de la Mode de Paris from 19 October – 16 March 2024.

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