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How did you become interested in millinery?
The story began in England in the late 1980s. I was living in London at the time and working in a completely different profession when I started doing an evening class in millinery. My day job did not require much creative expression so I was keen to unleash that through hats! I had always been interested in fashion and textiles.

Where did you learn millinery?
At evening classes with Rose Cory [who created hats for the Queen Mother] in London; at Wimbledon School of Art, also in London, where I studied costume and specialised in costume millinery [view photos].

How long have you been a milliner? Where did you start?
I got my first job as a milliner in 1990, with a period costume company in London. I made hats for different film and television productions: BBC dramas [Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion and The House of Eliott], Merchant Ivory films [Howards End, The Remains of the Day and Jefferson in Paris], etc. I worked with costume designers, interpreting their designs. The actors came in to be fitted for the costumes including the hats. I learnt a lot about the history of hats, as I would research the millinery fashions of the period before I started making hats for each film.

Can you mention some of the actors who have worn your millinery creations?
Tom Cruise in the movie Far and Away, Vanessa Redgrave, Emma Thompson and Helena Bonham Carter in Howards End, Minnie Driver [Mr. Wroe's Virgins], Nick Nolte [Jefferson in Paris] and Jennifer Ehle in Pride and Prejudice.

How long did you stay with this company?
I worked with this company for five years before returning in 1995 to Melbourne, Australia, where I set up my own millinery business. I work from my studio in Melbourne. I wholesale my hats to different boutiques and have my own clients coming to my studio to order individual hats. I also teach millinery at my studio and at Swinburne TAFE, in the Diploma Costume course (photo).

Where do you get inspiration for your designs?
I get inspiration from the fabrics I use. I'm always on the look out for different materials to design hats and fascinators. Garage sales and hardware stores can reveal some interesting treasures. I also draw inspiration from historical work I've done.

Who are your customers now?
The Melbourne Cup punctuates my year with regular race goers, women working in the racing industry and people heading off to the event for the first time – all coming to me for hats and fascinators. However, the racing season does not stop there. Australia hosts racing carnivals around the year; the Cairns Amateurs, the Darwin Cup, Broom Cup, the Magic Millions, all bring women to my millinery studio, in person or through this website. Weddings are also another event that can require a beautiful hat. Brides and mothers of brides and grooms come to me for a bespoke hat for their special occasion.

What are your recent projects?
Since 2006 I have worked in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, exhibiting and selling hats in the lead up to the Dubai World Cup. The event has the world's biggest prize money to the winning horse! The fashions on track are an eclectic mix, reflecting styles and trends from around the world at this international event [view 2007 photos]. I was invited to go there again in 2008 and exhibited my hats in March at the BurJuman Center.

Building on 2006's magical partnership with Hugo Boss, I created elegant and contemporary one-off designs for Boss Woman for Spring 2007. In September 2008, as part of Melbourne Spring Fashion Week, I will exhibit and sell a range of specially designed exquisite hats to go with Hugo Boss women's wear at their store at 230 Collins Street, Melbourne.

In 2007 I was also invited to present some of my creations at the Melbourne Spring Fashion Week Millinery Parade [view photos].

I still have many millinery courses scheduled for 2008 [view Louise's millinery courses]. This is another rewarding part of my work – sharing skills and inspiring students to express their creativity.

One of the students said: "Thank you again for such an interesting, fun and enlightening week; I was so inspired by your teaching... I think I may have found something in millinery which gives me enormous satisfaction. I have always loved fabric, sewing (and hats) and cannot believe I have spent so much of my life NOT involved in this fascinating field. Thank you for your inspiration!"

Another reward was to be featured on I Just Love That Hat, by Robyn Johnson of Five Mile Press. She has put together a beautiful little book on hats, which includes a selection of greeting cards and envelops. The book has photos, collage, quotes, historical commentary and various tit bits. Several of my hats are featured in the book, which should be available in book stores in September 2008 [view details about the book and view images of a few pages].

How would you describe your style of hats?
Elegant and quirky that relate well to the head!

(updated in August 2008)

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Enquiries
For more information, please contact Louise Macdonald's millinery studio.