LadyM Meets Kate Braithwaite | British Milliner
Today has truly been an Autumnal day. As I stepped outside our house I had to wade through leaves that had been swept by high winds right up to the front door. I’ve taken to finding out my winter jumpers and after a rather cold walk to the local pub on Friday night, I think gloves will be next. When it comes to autumn, one way to keep warm and stylish is with a hat.
Now I’m not talking beanie hat or russian Ushanka here. When it comes to being stylish in the headwear department, then a fedora is what you need. British Milliner Kate Braithwaite knows a thing or two about this. She makes the most beautiful fedora hats, from her studio in the heart of London and as well as making fedoras has made bespoke hats for Royal Ascot, the Queen’s garden party and of course weddings.
LadyM Meets Kate Braithwaite | British Milliner
Kate learnt her trade at Kensington and Chelsea College and worked the fabulous milliner Gina Foster, whose work I have profile before here at LadyM Presents. I sent Kate my LadyM Meets interview questions to learn more about the girl under the hats.
Kate Braithwaite, British Milliner
Q. What encouraged you to get into this industry and what was your route into it?
I have always loved hats since dressing up as a child but I never thought it was going to be my profession. After finishing textiles at university, I enrolled on a millinery course and there was no looking back.
Q. What is a typical working day for you?
I start the day with an early morning walk in the park with my whippet and a strong coffee. Then getting back to my home studio – first emails and planning the day and onto usually a day of blocking the bases for the hats, designing a new collection or working on marketing ideas.
I work on my own so I have to be very organised with my time and also do work part time at a beautiful handbag company – Wilbur & Gussie where I am lucky enough to have my fedoras stocked.
Q. Where are you based, how much of an inspiration is your city and what are your favourite cities around the world?
I’m based in London and we are very lucky to have such a huge variety of architecture on our doorstep from which I draw a lot of inspiration. I was lucky enough to travel around South America where I saw a range of extremely interesting cities.. probably favourites being Cusco in Peru, with incredible textiles and beautiful landscapes, another being Rio with the energy of everyone and carnival with the passion and time spent on there outfits.
Q. Have you seen the trend for hats change in the last few years? Have you had to adapt?
Yes – I feel that hats are now more accessible – however, fast fashion is producing lower quality pieces and lowering the price. On the flip side it does mean that there are more hats on heads- Kate Middleton has been a good advert and promoter of wearing hats.
It also means that we as traditional milliners can concentrate on making the higher end head pieces that are made from the best materials and concentrate on quality and design as you can’t compete with the prices of the high street.
Q. What’s the most rewarding part of your work? What is your greatest accomplishment so far?
The most rewarding part of my work is seeing the confidence a hat can portray – when a client comes in and doesn’t think they will look good in a hat or that ‘ hats don’t suit’ them and then finding the perfect shape / colour /design is extremely rewarding!
I do love seeing my hats at weddings and the races and it is always lovely to receive a letter from a Mother of the Bride thanking me.
My greatest accomplishment to date is being featured in Grazia magazine and also being picked by Triumph as a ‘Women in Making’ alongside a team of extremely talented women, to celebrate craftsmanship to celebrate craftsmanship in a range of fields.
Q. What is next for you? What are your goals for 2016 ?
Next year I want to keep learning more and get more involved with alternative interesting/innovative materials for my hats, whilst still caring for the traditional craft. I’d like to move away from just bespoke to producing my first collection for my occasion hats and hopefully get some celebrities wearing my hats and in more press!
Bonus Question – if you didn’t do the job you do now – what would be your dream job and where?
Textiles buyer … travelling to Mexico, India, Peru and Columbia… with a lot of travel but still living in the UK getting to know the local suppliers in these countries… or a gemologist I would love to learn and know about all the stones/gems I think it is an extremely interesting subject which I probably will actually try and learn a bit about in the next year!
You can see Kate’s work on her website and also get in touch with her directly to talk about making a bespoke hat for any event.
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joanne Spencer November 23, 2015 at 2:25 pm
Just spent a lovely half hour with a cup of tea, reading your blogs and exploring your site. Its really great and I feel inspired to shop!
kindest regards
Joanne
LadyM November 23, 2015 at 2:43 pm
Thank you for stopping by Joanne. I’m glad that you enjoyed it. Plenty of Christmas gift ideas coming up too!