What inspired you to learn millinery? I always wanted to be a specialist in something after I studied fashion. Shoes and hats intrigue me, but the drama and the eccentricity of a hat won me over. So I did a course in London with Noel Stewart.
Which styles do you make? My previous summer collection was a ray of colourful sisal boaters. My winter berets are popular, and lately I have made a few fedoras.
Why those styles? I figure out one style at a time and see how it’s received.
Which fabrics do you use? I used wool felt for winter; sisal and straw for summer. For more conceptual pieces I will up-cycle anything.
Which other hats are coming soon? I’m working on panamas at the moment and visors for summer. I’m always up for a custom piece or a collaboration.
What’s the best thing about wearing a hat? Haute Couture hat maker Stephen
Jones said: “A hat is the dot on the I.” It really is. It completes an outfit or makes a statement.
Five words to describe your style? Eclectic, comfortable, local, print, playful.
September 2016
New kid in town: the real Crystal Birch
There are some things that everybody knows about the talented, wacky,
and wonderful Cape Town- and Berlin-based stylist Crystal Birch, and something that nobody knows.
For instance, she created Jack Parow’s signature long caps, she’s styled Tanzanian pop videos, and Wallpaper magazine listed her as one of the reasons to visit SA.
But not everyone knows that she’s a milliner of note who has just opened a store with perfume maker Agata Karolina of House of Gozdawa at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Maboneng. We asked Birch about her mad-hatter passions.
What inspired you to learn millinery? I always wanted to be a specialist in something after I studied fashion. Shoes and hats intrigue me, but the drama and the eccentricity of a hat won me over. So I did a course in London with Noel Stewart.
Which styles do you make? My previous summer collection was a ray of colourful sisal boaters. My winter berets are popular, and lately I have made a few fedoras.
Why those styles? I figure out one style at a time and see how it’s received.
Which fabrics do you use? I used wool felt for winter; sisal and straw for summer. For more conceptual pieces I will up-cycle anything.
Which other hats are coming soon? I’m working on panamas at the moment and visors for summer. I’m always up for a custom piece or a collaboration.
What’s the best thing about wearing a hat? Haute Couture hat maker Stephen
Jones said: “A hat is the dot on the I.” It really is. It completes an outfit or makes a statement.
Five words to describe your style? Eclectic, comfortable, local, print, playful.
therealcrystalbirch.com