It was indeed the proliferation of hairdressing salons in the 1960s that sounded the death knell for hat makers. If this know-how is becoming scarce, it continues with Maison Michel, which now belongs to Chanel's crafts. It takes a dozen steps to shape, by hand, a hat on a linden tree shape. The straw is rolled up there, then sewn. To obtain its final lines, the galurin is stowed, and placed in an oven. Then, the milliner sutures the finishes and affixes braid, label and other fantasies.
Formerly associated with a uniform or a social status, the hat is back in force. “Formerly, the headgear, seat of intelligence, was very connoted. In the military, he referred to a rank and said a lot about the person we were dealing with. It has become an uninhibited fashion accessory, ” says Priscilla Royer, the artistic director. Fans are looking for a functional but also a suitable model. "Before the summer, more and more men offer themselves a beautiful hat whose shape they will have carefully chosen, rather than buying a low-end one on the beach," analyzes the young designer. Adventurers at heart will be tempted by the rolling straw, a hat that can be stored in a suitcase or a pocket.
“This very practical model has no primer because it has to be manipulated. In memory of shape, it can be rolled up like a panama that you would slip into its cigar box, ” explains Priscilla Royer, who, on the material side, likes Japanese paper straw and raffia for its raw appearance. It also bets on more eco-friendly fibers. The finer it is braided, the longer it will last.
Wheat, hemp or panama are very sensitive to the weather. To keep your headgear for as long as possible, keep it away from light and in a place that is not too dry, to prevent the straw from breaking. If you don't benefit from an equatorial climate all year round, a quick tour in a house oven - the bathroom, for example - should help your favorite hat to get back into shape.
Michel-paris.com
