MAKING A MODERN ICON - THE NEW ‘AMERICAN’
Inspired by the big fedoras of the 1950s but much more contemporary and wearable.
A snap-brim fedora, finished with a very minimalist, neat ribbon so that it’s all about the hat, the shape, angles and shadow.
Where it starts....
Every new hat starts with the idea for a form but really begins by making the form, in the workshop. Alex works with Roberto in creating a plaster form, using separate brim and crown and then literally chiselling the rough form into shape. At this stage we work on the form of the final hat, the balance between the crown and brim, the original idea, and the shape and nuance between them, to get an idea of how the final hat will look.
The finished plaster form is then used to create the final form from the aluminium ‘pigs’ of metal.
It’s the final aluminium form that we then use to create the first felted hat on our ‘French’ press to shape and mould the rough cones of furfelt. Then it is cut, trimmed and finished to the hats we love.
