CROWNING GLORIES
Vivien Sheriff has been in the global spotlight since 2011, when the Duchess of Cambridge wore one of her headpieces for her first official engagement with Prince William. Sheriff is the designer who has dressed the most Royal Wedding guests and her creations continue to top off the duchess’s outfits today.
But her label is a long way from Windsor Castle. Speaking to me from her workshop in rural Wiltshire – so rural in fact that she breaks off midsentence to chastise her dog for chasing a tractor – Vivien confesses that the surroundings inspire her headpieces. ‘The initial 2007 collection comprised really beautiful feathers that were from birds around here.’
Indeed, the first Vivien Sheriff fascinator that the Duchess of Cambridge wore was a triumph of pheasant feathers and silk velvet. But what’s in vogue now? ‘People are braver generally, they’re much more used to wearing big shapes and for the next couple of years I think there will be a move back towards hats that have a proper separate crown and brim, which you pull on your head, as opposed to an Alice band.’
The Alprodite, with pheasant feathers and the workshop in Wiltshire
And do her Royal clients lead the way? ‘We continue to make pieces for the Royal Family but lots of what we make is not generally seen in the stores. For example, the beret we made for the duchess. The shape is very familiar but it’s one that tends not to be taken up by the general public. Her choices don’t become the most commercial shapes. But I think people see them being worn, and are then a little bit more daring themselves.’
Vivien confides that although she has made many hats for the duchess and her family, she’s never sure when they will make an appearance. ‘It’s always lovely making pieces for such celebrated heads, but we don’t often know when they are going to be worn. So it’s very exciting when they are.
‘It’s a case of keeping an eye out. The duchess wore one recently, a black-and-white feathered piece, and we had no idea she was going to – I just saw it in the paper the next day.’
But is millinery struggling as an industry? ‘It is increasingly difficult,’ confirms Vivien. ‘There are so few manufacturers left in the UK and many people have moved their factories overseas. We haven’t done that, we manufacture here. But while it is becoming a dying trade, it’s never been as busy as it is at the moment.
‘More people are wearing occasion hats than ever before. I have a team of 14 here in the workshop, and this time of year we are constantly busy.’
Is there anyone else Vivien would love to dress? ‘Michelle Obama,’ she says without hesitation. ‘She has worn our pieces before but I would like to make something specifically for her.’
From duchess to First Lady... there seems to be no stopping this very British milliner.
For more information: 01725-512983, www.viviensheriff.co.uk
Brain Tumour Research’s Wear A Hat Day is on 28 March. Vivien Sheriff has provided the inspiration for a limitededition brooch. For details: 01296-733011, www.wearahatday.org
But her label is a long way from Windsor Castle. Speaking to me from her workshop in rural Wiltshire – so rural in fact that she breaks off midsentence to chastise her dog for chasing a tractor – Vivien confesses that the surroundings inspire her headpieces. ‘The initial 2007 collection comprised really beautiful feathers that were from birds around here.’
Indeed, the first Vivien Sheriff fascinator that the Duchess of Cambridge wore was a triumph of pheasant feathers and silk velvet. But what’s in vogue now? ‘People are braver generally, they’re much more used to wearing big shapes and for the next couple of years I think there will be a move back towards hats that have a proper separate crown and brim, which you pull on your head, as opposed to an Alice band.’
The Alprodite, with pheasant feathers and the workshop in WiltshireAnd do her Royal clients lead the way? ‘We continue to make pieces for the Royal Family but lots of what we make is not generally seen in the stores. For example, the beret we made for the duchess. The shape is very familiar but it’s one that tends not to be taken up by the general public. Her choices don’t become the most commercial shapes. But I think people see them being worn, and are then a little bit more daring themselves.’
Vivien confides that although she has made many hats for the duchess and her family, she’s never sure when they will make an appearance. ‘It’s always lovely making pieces for such celebrated heads, but we don’t often know when they are going to be worn. So it’s very exciting when they are.
‘It’s a case of keeping an eye out. The duchess wore one recently, a black-and-white feathered piece, and we had no idea she was going to – I just saw it in the paper the next day.’
But is millinery struggling as an industry? ‘It is increasingly difficult,’ confirms Vivien. ‘There are so few manufacturers left in the UK and many people have moved their factories overseas. We haven’t done that, we manufacture here. But while it is becoming a dying trade, it’s never been as busy as it is at the moment.
‘More people are wearing occasion hats than ever before. I have a team of 14 here in the workshop, and this time of year we are constantly busy.’
Is there anyone else Vivien would love to dress? ‘Michelle Obama,’ she says without hesitation. ‘She has worn our pieces before but I would like to make something specifically for her.’
From duchess to First Lady... there seems to be no stopping this very British milliner.
For more information: 01725-512983, www.viviensheriff.co.uk
Brain Tumour Research’s Wear A Hat Day is on 28 March. Vivien Sheriff has provided the inspiration for a limitededition brooch. For details: 01296-733011, www.wearahatday.org