Kat Barclay
‘Céleste’
Céleste is a piece of wearable art. My inspiration came from Vincent Van Gogh’s painting, Starry Night Over The Rhône (1888). The first time I saw it, I marvelled at its other worldliness. I wanted to interpret his interpretation of the night sky and stars reflected in the river in my own wearable way.
It is a beret percher in midnight blue velvet dotted with pinprick lights and decorated with yellow starbursts and swirls. The English Merry Widow veiling is dotted with crystals in the shape of the Aries constellation, Van Gogh’s star sign. Céleste can be worn interchangeably. The hat can be worn alone or with the veil or the veil can be worn alone without the hat. Turning the lights on or off is down to the wearer’s desired impact on that day.
Not for sale.
“I have always been fascinated by partnering traditional craft with unusual contemporary elements and wondered if it would be possible to capture the night sky in a hat. I made many prototypes before I worked out how to achieve it while maintaining the couture elements that would make this an elegant piece.
The use of modern pinprick lights on traditional velvet add to the drama and blend traditional craft with technology. The battery pack is very slim and disguised so the wearer does not feel it and the viewer is left wondering how it works.
Velvet cannot be blocked and steamed in a traditional way, so instead I draped and gently smoothed out the creases as I hand stitched it to the base.”
Materials and Techniques
Fosshape, Velvet, LED slim battery-pack powered lights, Goose Feather Biots, English Merry Widow Veiling, Crystals.
For the purpose of the exhibition, I have not lined Céleste so that the curious can see the inner workings.
Millinery Heritage
“I realised at a very young age that everyone will always recognise you and remember you by the hat you wear. So just like my muse, Alexis Colby (Joan Collins’ character in Dynasty), I always finish off an outfit with a hat.
It was a photograph in Tatler in 2010 that inspired me to become a milliner. It was of a beautiful black and white hat by Philip Treacy modelled by Martha Sitwell who was wearing a matching Alexander McQueen suit. I thought it was fantastic and I was eager to learn the skills that would enable me to turn my ideas into beautifully crafted pieces.
Heritage techniques in millinery are very important to me. Learning the fundamental traditional techniques is paramount because only then can you bend them to your imagination and bring to life your own unique creations.My grandmother was a very talented seamstress and made all her own clothes and hats. She always made matching outfits for my mother and her twin sister and passed on her skill to them both. My father was an electrical engineer who instilled in me a fascination with electricity. With Céleste, I have combined both. ”
About Kat Barclay
Kat Barclay is an award-winning London based milliner who creates luxurious hand-crafted wearable art using couture techniques.
With every piece she creates, Kat aims to empower the wearer to express themselves through her designs. Her inspiration comes from classic designs that look simple but beneath them lies a complex symmetry that balances proportion, aesthetic and design that push boundaries to create a little bit of magic for the wearer.
After a career in Law, Events Production, Translation and Film Making Kat decided to act on her passion for headwear and in 2024 won the Craftsmanship Award in the Feltmakers Design Awards. She is currently in the process of becoming a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Feltmakers.
Oscar Wilde famously said, “Give a man a mask, and he’ll tell you the truth.” Kat believes, “Give a woman a hat, and she can be whoever she wants to be.”