Hats: Part 2

Since the previous post was about hats I've designed, this post is about a few interesting hats that I've seen and photographed. A couple of years ago now, I attended a Björk gig at the Hammersmith Apollo and knowing the kind of outlandish attire she normally wears, I had high expectations of her outfit that night. The opening act was an experimental Iranian DJ named Leila Arab, who I've since become a fan of. Once that had finished, Björk revealed her outfit as a pink tin foil dress, or so it appeared, and a hat comprised of many brightly coloured fluffy balls. A year later, I returned to London and was reunited with this very hat  whilst viewing 'Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones', an exhibition being held at the V&A museum. Below, the pictures taken on both occasions. 

To accompany the hats designed by Stephen Jones at this exhibition, there were also those  of Philip Treacy. One of my favourites on display, as worn by Isabella Blow (left) and as it stood in the exhibition (right). 

During my stay in Innsbruck, Austria, I visited the Swarovski Crystal World. The whole experience is a psychedelic blend of colours and reflections and here are a couple photos of what dwells inside. 

Following the European theme, in Prague I saw some more great hats and headdresses. and these were traditional or ceremonial outfits of the Czech Republic. At the museum of Folklore, the curators were very strict on photography but I managed to capture a couple. I think the use of straw looks great here but the sheep horns make the right hand image my favourite.

Finally, the Nordic Museum in Stockholm, Sweden. I know I already mentioned this city in a previous post but it's still relevant to the hat theme, that and Stockholm is great. The Nordic Museum displayed a large variety of interesting objects, including a history of Swedish furniture, modern and folkloric art as well as traditional Saami clothing. The Saami are the indigenous people of Northern Scandinavia and examples of their head wear can be seen below. 

 

I wanted to post a video of what I thought were a Saami band. However, Värttinä are in fact Finnish but I'll post it anyway because I like them. The 'Snake Song' has a pretty eerie introduction and in my opinion, conjures up images of female Nordic Shaman or 'Völva'.

 

All but 3rd Photo by K.L.V.