This gorgeous summer hat caught our attention because it is so bright and cheerful – just what we all need right now. It was made by Anne Belyaeva of Fox Millinery in Melbourne, Australia. Anne, who won first place in the 2016 HATalk Competition, is pictured here modelling her creation. We asked her to tell us more about it…

What inspired this piece?

This hat was created during the Melbourne lockdown. One of the longest in world, it lasted from March to October 2020. There were many uncertainties during this time and, along with the typical Melbourne cold and cloudy winter weather, this created a rather unpleasant state of mood, at least for me. So I was excited when the Millinery Hub announced their online hat making challenge – ‘Back Yard Ascot.’

I always associate Ascot with wide brims, so the shape and size were predetermined in my mind. The colour pallet was prearranged as well, because this hat was made to accompany an outfit which was pink, yellow and blue.

What materials did you use?

The materials I used for the hat were sinamay, a traditional millinery material popular in England (particularly at Ascot), and synthetic, semi-transparent crinoline. From the beginning, I wanted a very specific shade of pink, bright but soft at the same time. However, it was simply not possible to buy millinery materials in the shade I wanted. So to create this customised pastel pink, I combined the Magenta, Perfect Pink and White Design Master spray dyes. Then, after several attempts that were very hit and miss, I finally created a vibrant but not too striking yellow with the help of ‘Dye-na-Flow’ fabric dye.

This last year has been extremely hard on independent milliners. Have you had to adapt your business model during these difficult times?

Unfortunately… yes. I specialise in racing hats. Last year most of the racing carnivals were conducted without public access. Here and there, some racing fashion contests went online but demand for racing outfits, including hats, just completely collapsed.

Currently I am exploring new trends and ideas. In particular, I have been enjoying looking at headwear for everyday street style fashions. Headscarves are currently the hottest trend and can been seen in the season collections of many of the most famous fashion houses. My new collection of summer headscarves look just fabulous on their own or, when necessary, can be worn with their matching face mask.

What are some of your personal millinery highlights?

Definitely my major HATalk Competition prize, traveling to the South of France to participate in a millinery course at the beautiful Chateau Dumas, was one of the major highlights of recent years. It is hard to say to what I enjoyed more, the charming setting of the Chateau, the millinery haute couture techniques

I was exposed to or the social interaction with other like-minded, highly creative people. All of these elements made the experience truly unforgettable. Since then, my hats have won prizes or being finalists at some of the most famous racing fashion platforms in the world, including the Dubai World Cup in 2017 and South Africa’s Durban July in 2018. Plus, one my hats and racing fashion outfits was featured on US television during the first American online horse race fashion contest. As for Australian contests, my hats have consistently won a

large number of national, regional and local Fashion on the Field awards at racing events. Most recently, one of my beautiful clients won the South

Australia State final wearing Fox Millinery.

Also, because I equally enjoy hat making, traveling and writing, I have created a blog about all my travels and major highlights of the hat fashion world. This blog can be seen on my website and all hats lovers are welcome to take a look!

What are your hopes and plans for the future, both for this specific hat and for your millinery as a whole?

In relation to this specific hat, things are coming together and I hope to have a chance to showcase it to a wider audience on a fashion event stage very soon. As for the immediate future of my millinery, I am participating in two Australian millinery contests taking place in the next few weeks, MIMC 2021 and the Sydney Royal Easter Show Arts & Crafts Millinery Competition.

As for my wider plans, racing hats are definitely my true passion. I sincerely believe that in Australia a number of unique environmental factors have combined in a way that has created a splendid world of racing fashion like nowhere else. Melbourne, the city where I currently live, is unquestionably

the heart of Australian racing fashion. With digital technology  your location is no longer that important and online shops can operate from anywhere in the

world, but I still often think that I am just very lucky. That by sheer chance I found myself in a place where I can fully use my creativity and be amongst a community of people who are genuinely interested and appreciative of racing fashion. So, I sincerely hope that racing fashion will come back to life this year. I am really looking forward to it blossoming again, with a whole new season of wonderful racing outfits and hats to admire. To see more of Anne Belyaeva’s hats and headpieces, go to @fox_millinery and foxmillinery.com.

This article was published in the HATalk millinery magazine and re-published on this website with the kind permission of its editor Rebecca Weaver.