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
Stephen Jones in 1979
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.
Stephen Jones’ ‘Cocteau’ hat which 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.
billetterie-parismusees.paris.fr
-
First look – Bottega Veneta and Flos release a special edition of the Model 600Gino Sarfatti’s fan favourite from 1966 is born again with Bottega Veneta’s signature treatments gracing its leather base
-
We stepped inside the Stedelijk Museum's newest addition in AmsterdamAmsterdam's Stedelijk Museum has unveiled its latest addition, the brand-new Don Quixote Sculpture Hall by Paul Cournet of Rotterdam creative agency Cloud
-
On a sloped Los Angeles site, a cascade of green 'boxes' offers inside outside livingUnStack, a house by FreelandBuck, is a cascading series of bright green volumes, with mountain views
-
‘He immortalised the birth of the supermodel’: inside Dior’s career-spanning retrospective of photographer Peter LindberghOlivier Flaviano, curator and head of Paris’ La Galerie Dior, talks us through a new Peter Lindbergh retrospective, which celebrates the seminal German photographer’s longtime relationship with the French house
-
Fashion features editor Jack Moss’ style gift guideWallpaper* fashion features editor Jack Moss compiles his fantasy festive wish list – from a surreal Bottega Veneta tree decoration to Hylton Nel’s Dior-approved ceramic cats
-
Inside ‘De toutes beautés!’, the Louvre’s new exhibition narrating 10,000 years of beauty ideals through art‘De toutes beautés!’ marks the beginning of a three-year partnership between the Louvre and L’Oréal Groupe. India Birgitta Jarvis reports on the show for Wallpaper*
-
What makes a ‘winter perfume’? The Wallpaper* guide to fragrances that linger on the skin and in the airThe Wallpaper* guide to winter perfume has been compiled by our beauty editor Hannah Tindle, including scents from the likes of Bottega Veneta, Frederic Malle and Marissa Zappas
-
‘A hat is an alibi, a fabulous lie’: radical milliner Stephen Jones on his career-spanning new Paris exhibitionAs ‘Stephen Jones, Chapeaux d’Artiste’ opens at Paris’ Palais Galliera, the British milliner tells Wallpaper* about the transformative power of hats, the one designer he wishes he’d collaborated with, and his lifelong love of Paris
-
Maude’s Brâncuși-inspired sex toys go on display in a new Paris exhibitionMaude’s design-led vibrators are now on display at Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, as part of ‘Private Lives: From the Bedroom to Social Media’. Brand founder Éva Goicochea talks to Wallpaper* about partnering with the museum and opening up cultural conversations around sex
-
Kim Jones to exit Fendi after four yearsFendi has announced that Kim Jones is leaving his role as artistic director of womenswear and couture at the Italian house, though will remain at Dior Men
-
The breathtaking runway sets of S/S 2025, from beanbag animals to a twisted living roomWallpaper* picks the best runway sets and show spaces of fashion month, which featured Bottega Veneta’s beanbag menagerie, opulence at Saint Laurent, and artist collaborations at Acne Studios and Burberry
