Stephen Jones OBE (born 1957) is a British milliner based in London, who is considered one of the most radical and important milliners of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. He is also one of the most prolific, having created hats for the catwalk shows of many leading couturiers and fashion designers, such as John Galliano at Dior and Vivienne Westwood.Hats: An Anthology microsite on the V&A Museum website, accessed 1 April 2009 His work is known for its inventiveness and high level of technical expertise.Stephen Jones spiral hat in the V&A collections online database. Accessed 3 April 2009 Jones co-curated the 2009 exhibition Hats: An Anthology for the Victoria and Albert Museum.Hats: An Anthology information page on the V&A Museum website, accessed 1 April 2009
Early life Stephen Jones was born on the Wirral Peninsula in Cheshire and educated at Liverpool College. From an early age, his mother instilled in him an appreciation of art by taking him around the Walker Art Gallery, Speke Hall, and to National Trust properties around the North West.Jones, Stephen, A Personal View, for
He studied art at foundation level at the High Wycombe College of Art. In 1975 he travelled to London to see the exhibition Fashion from 1900 to 1939 at the V&A, which inspired him to pursue a career in the fashion industry.Biography of Stephen Jones on the V&A Museum website, accessed 1 April 2009 This led him to apply to study fashion design under Elisabeth Suter, at the Saint Martin's School of Art, London, where he was the sole male student in his year. Although he enjoyed being taught by Peter Lewis Crown, the designer-owner of the London couture house Lachasse, he had little prior sewing experience, and so in order to develop his skills Crown secured Jones a summer placement in Lachasse's tailoring workroom.
Jones soon requested a transfer to the next-door millinery department presided over by Shirley Hex, but was told he had to make a hat from scratch first. The hat he eventually submitted, his first original millinery creation, was a cardboard pillbox covered in blue crêpe de Chine and trimmed with a plastic iris, sprayed silver that his mother had received as a free gift from a petrol station in the 1960s.Limnander, Armand; "The Headliner: Stephen Jones makes waves as well as cloches", for The New York Times, 17 August 2008. Accessed 3 April 2009 In his innocence, Jones had not realised that millinery flowers were traditionally made of silk, but Hex approved the hat, commenting on the flower's modernity. Between 1976 and 1979 Jones spent his summer breaks working for Hex and learning about millinery methods and techniques. Through hats he developed a keen interest in fashion history, particularly the drama and exaggerated glamour of the 1950s.
Jones left Saint Martin's in 1979, the same year that he became a regular attendee of London's Blitz nightclub in Covent Garden for New Romantics and fans of new wave music. Jones had been a Punk while at St Martins, but keenly embraced the New Romantic movement as its drawing of inspiration from historical dress resonated with his thinking. As one of the "Blitz Kids", he hung out with the likes of Spandau Ballet, Duran Duran, Isabella Blow, and Jean Paul Gaultier; and shared a house with Boy George and Grayson Perry, competing with them to wear the most outrageous outfits to Blitz, including a pinstripe suit with stiletto heels.Nikkhah, Roya; "And Now For Stephen Jones's Crowning Glory", in The Independent, 26 November 2008 Many of the Blitz Kids became his first clients, with Jones creating outlandish hats for them to wear to the club.
Millinery career Jones designed a line of hats for Fiorucci in 1979. In 1980, Blitz's club host Steve Strange provided backing for Jones' first millinery salon, which opened nearby in the basement of the trendy store PX, Endell Street, Covent Garden on 1 October.Stephen Jones' CV , as posted on his official website. Accessed 2 April 2009 It was an instant success, with Jones commenting in 2008: "Overnight, I had a business". 1982 saw Jones' first Paris fashion show with Steve Strange at Le Palace and his first televised show (for the BBC's Riverside) By this point, he was able to count Diana, Princess of Wales as a regular customer, in addition to his clients from Blitz, and had a hat acquired by the Victoria & Albert Museum for their newly refurbished Costume Court. This was the beginning of Jones' long and fruitful relationship with the V&A, culminating in the Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones exhibition of 2009 that he co-curated with Oriole Cullen. One of his hats appeared on the December 1982 cover of Tatler, the first time his work had featured on a magazine cover; the hat is now in the V&A.
Jones relocated his studio to Lexington Street, Soho in 1984. That year, Jean Paul Gaultier invited him to Paris to make hats for his show, his first designs for a Paris couturier, and he also made hats for Thierry Mugler.St Germans, Catherine; Milliner Stephen Jones explains his latest exhibition at the V&A, for The Daily Telegraph, 3 February 2009; accessed 8 April 2009 After their second show together, Gaultier ensured that Jones received full credit for his hats, therefore ensuring that the Paris fashion world was made aware of his work.Monsef, Gity; Interview with Stephen Jones for Iqons, 23 August 2008. Accessed 8 April 2009 In 1984 he also sold his first designs to a department store, Bloomingdale's in New York.
Jones was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2010 New Year Honours.
Collections This is a list of Stephen Jones' bi-annual hat collections since 1980. The collections from Fall 1981 to Fall 1984 were unnamed.
1980: Fall-Winter: First Collection 1981: Spring-Summer: The Hanging Gardens of Babylon 1985: Spring-Summer: Point Zero Fall-Winter: For The Heart of Woman and the Soul of Man 1986: Spring-Summer: Passport to Pleasure Fall-Winter: Heads of State 1987: Spring-Summer: She Fall-Winter: Stephen Jones World + 1988: Spring-Summer: Sunset on Suburbia Fall-Winter: Room Service 1989: Spring-Summer: Ole Steamy Fall-Winter: Forty Five Degrees 1990: Spring-Summer: Passion on the Pampas Fall-Winter: In Orbit 1991: Spring-Summer: Shriek With Chic Fall-Winter: Glamé 1992: Spring-Summer: The Devil is a Woman Fall-Winter: Norma Desmond Lives 1993: Spring-Summer: Souvenirs Fall-Winter: Xanadu 1994: Spring-Summer: Miss World Fall-Winter: Rococo Futura 1995: Spring-Summer: Legasty Fall-Winter: Les Girls 1996: Spring-Summer: Untitled '96 Fall-Winter: Contours 1997: Spring-Summer: Lotus Eaters Fall-Winter: Murder by Millinery 1998: Spring-Summer: E=mc2 Fall-Winter: Millinery Computer 1999: Spring-Summer: Pic 'n' Mix Fall-Winter: Celebrations 2000: Spring-Summer: Nursery Fall-Winter: Blah Blah Blah 2001: Spring-Summer: Icon Fall-Winter: Queens 2002: Spring-Summer: High Fall-Winter: North 2003: Spring-Summer: South Fall-Winter: Poseur 2004: Spring-Summer: Hollywood Regency Fall-Winter: La Prima Donna 2005: Spring-Summer: Handmade in England Fall-Winter: Jubilee 2006: Spring-Summer: Travelogue Fall-Winter: Time Travel 2007: Spring-Summer: Artifice Fall-Winter: Shangri-La 2008: Spring-Summer: Desert Rose Fall-Winter: Covent Garden 2009: Spring-Summer: Albertopolis Fall-Winter: VandA 2010: Spring-Summer: ABC Fall-Winter: XYZ 2011: Spring-Summer: Drifting and Dreaming Fall-Winter: Topsy Turvy 2012: Spring-Summer: Chinoiserie-on-Sea Fall-Winter: This is Tomorrow 2013: Spring-Summer: West Fall-Winter: Art School 2014: Spring-Summer: Carte Blanche Fall-Winter: Garbo-Gabo 2015: Spring-Summer: Hot House Fall-Winter: Hatsville USA 2016: Spring-Summer: The Perfect Hat for... Fall-Winter: Soho 2017: Spring-Summer: Shade Fall-Winter: Haute Couture & Pret-a-Porter 2018: Spring-Summer: Hats Fall-Winter: Crowns 2019: Spring-Summer: Parfum Fall-Winter: #tophat 2020: Spring-Summer: 123 Fall-Winter: Its About Time 2021: Spring-Summer: Analogue Fairydust Fall-Winter: French Kiss 2022: Spring-Summer: Bonnes Vacances Fall-Winter: Playlist 2023: Spring-Summer: El Morocco Fall-Winter: Why, why not? 2024: Spring-Summer: Cymru Fall-Winter: A Muse à Paris 2025: Spring-Summer: The CurveFall-Winter: SENSEational 2026: Spring-Summer: A Rainbow in Curved AirFall-Winter: Think Pink but Pack Black 2026: Spring-Summer: Flora Diaspora
In 1988 Jones moved again, to Heddon Street. His salon and workshop are based on Great Queen Street, Covent Garden, London as of 1995.
Diffusion lines and non-millinery designs In 1990, Jones launched a Miss Jones diffusion line for hats, and in 1993, this was followed by Jonesgirl which was exclusive to Japan. The Stephen Jones brand has had a strong presence in Japan since 1990, when Jones struck a licensing deal for T-shirts, cosmetic bags, scarves and handkerchiefs to be manufactured there under his name; this was followed by Stephen Jones Kimonos in 1991, sunglasses in 1992, gloves in 1993 and handbags in 2002. Jones was also a consultant for Shiseido Cosmetics, Japan from 1986-2002. Jones has occasionally designed garments and accessories other than hats. In 1983 he designed dresses for Susanne Bartsch's shop in SoHo, New York and furs for Sol Feldman Furs, New York, and created a shoe line for Sergio Rossi in 1987.
Design partnerships
In November 1996, Stephen Jones was the only British milliner to have control of a Paris haute couture millinery studio, or Atelier Mode, making hats for Galliano's high-profile couture shows at Christian Dior where he is Creative Director of Hats and subsequently Raf Simons, Maria Grazia Chiuri, Kim Jones and Jonathan Anderson. Jones has collaborated with Galliano since 1993 for his namesake label, Dior and Maison Margiela. Jones also created Vivienne Westwood's iconic Harris Tweed Crown of 1987.Gallery of Stephen Jones designs on the official website, accessed 3 April 2009Frankel, Susannah, "Tweed running shoes? Darling, that's absolutely fabulous" for The Independent, 26 June 2004; accessed 3 April 2009 Since the 1980s his hats have been in great demand for multiple shows per season. For the Paris collections in early 1995 alone, he was creating human-hair hats for Josephus Thimister's first collection at Balenciaga and designs for Peter O'Brien at Marcel Rochas and Claude Montana as well as Galliano.Bond, Gavin, And to top it all, a hat from Mr Jones, for The Independent, 24 March 1995. Accessed 8 April 2009 In 2008, he made hats for Marc Jacobs, L'Wren Scott, Thom Browne, Comme des Garçons, Giles Deacon, Loewe, and Walter van Beirendonck, Throughout his career he has designed hats for the shows of many other designers and couturiers.
Stephen Jones and popular culture In addition to his hat collections for designers, Jones has undertaken numerous individual high-profile commissions for pop groups, musicians, actors, and other celebrities. He has also been commissioned by a number of companies to create designs for advertisements and promotions.
Music Grace Jones, Diana Ross, George Michael, Spandau Ballet and Culture Club were among Jones's first high-profile celebrity clients in the 1980s. Jones made a personal appearance in the Culture Club video Do You Really Want to Hurt Me? and went on to create headgear for Wham!, Wet Wet Wet, Madonna, Erasure, Bryan Ferry and Barbra Streisand.
In the 1990s, his client list expanded to include Monie Love, Paula Abdul, U2, The Rolling Stones, Cappella, New Order, Marc Almond, Billy Ray Martin, Take That, Belinda Carlisle, Mike + The Mechanics, Skunk Anansie, Eternal, B*Witched, All Saints, Celine Dion, and Kylie Minogue.
Jones's client list expanded through the first decade of the 21st century to include the Spice Girls, Robbie Williams, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Hear'Say, Macy Gray, Björk, Steve Strange, Paul Simonon, Will Young, Pink, Tori Amos, Alison Goldfrapp, Christina Aguilera, Rihanna, Usher. Lady Gaga and Beyonce.