Stephen Jones, chapeaux d'artiste

© Simon Procter

Exhibition | Ground floor

19 October 2024 - 16 March 2025

The exhibition Stephen Jones, chapeaux d'artiste at the Palais Galliera presents the work of a British designer who, since his first collections in the 1980s to the most recent, is recognized by celebrities and fashion designers alike as one of the greatest contemporary milliners.

For the first time in over forty years at the Palais Galliera, an exhibition is being devoted entirely to an accessory, the hat, treating it as a work of art in its own right. The exhibition focuses on Stephen Jones's creative process, the sources of inspiration behind his pieces, and the role of Paris in his work.

Born in the north-west of England in 1957, and schooled in Liverpool, Stephen Jones studied Womenswear Fashion design at Saint Martin's School of Art, London. He opened his first millinery salon in London in 1980, and was soon presenting two hat collections a year. After leaving Saint Martin's he had become a regular patron of the Covent Garden nightclub The Blitz, cradle of the New Romantic movement, where he hung out with people from the music world like Spandau Ballet and Boy George. Friends made at The Blitz became Stephen Jones's first clients. He went on to work in haute couture and gradually forged close links with some of the world's leading fashion houses and designers, including Christian Dior, Jean Paul Gaultier, Claude Montana, Thierry Mugler, Vivienne Westwood, John Galliano, Comme des Garçons, Walter Van Beirendonck, and Louis Vuitton.

Stephen Jones occupies a unique position behind the scenes in the fashion world. Thanks to his collaborations, he has been involved in some of the most iconic collections from many of the world's leading fashion houses. Stephen Jones's hats highlight and complement silhouettes that have had a profound impact on the history of fashion since the 1980s... The exhibition specifically focuses on the artist's close ties with Paris, French culture and Parisian couture. When he arrived in Paris and began working with Parisian fashion houses, his vision of fashion and his creative process were totally transformed. His attachment to Paris is reflected in his own collections, in his sources of inspiration and in his chosen themes: symbols of Paris and of French history, the image of the Parisian woman, and tributes to French couturiers.

There are close to 400 works in the exhibition, including more than 170 hats, as well as Jones's archives (preparatory drawings, photographs, extracts from fashion shows, etc.) and around forty silhouettes complete with clothes and hats. These 'looks' bear witness to the enduring loyalty between Stephen Jones and some of the world's leading fashion houses, in particular Christian Dior, who he has worked with for nearly thirty years. This key figure has become the most 'Frenchified' of English milliners, endowing Paris fashion with his bold energy and boundless creativity.

CURATORS

General curator

Miren Arzalluz, director of the Palais Galliera

Scientific curator

Marie-Laure Gutton, head of the accessories collections, assisted by Alice Freudiger

Artistic adviser

Stephen Jones