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Artist Study: Philip Treacy
By Mark Stamp

Born: 26
th
May, 1967
Ahascragh, County Galway, Ireland
Nationality: Irish
Occupation: Milliner

Philip Treacy is an Irish-born British milliner who was born in the
rural village of Ahascragh in County Galway, Ireland, where he grew up
with seven brothers and two sisters. He gained an interest in fashion and
sewing from a young age, starting off by making outfits for his sisters dolls
out of feathers from the numerous birds that his parents kept in the family
garden. He mentioned in the writing collection Philip Treacy When Philip
Met Isabelle that he was mesmerised by the elaborate outfits worn by the
attendants of weddings there they were the equivalent of fashion shows
to me. The dresses that the people wore, I couldnt believe them they were incredible (Treacy, 2002, p. 14),
a stark contrast to the rugged cottage lifestyle that surrounded him as he grew up. In 1985, when he was 18,
he moved to Dublin to study at the National College of Art and Design. It was there and his subsequent
education at the Royal College of Art in London that he gained his characteristic fondness for designing hats.
Philips first job after an interview for Tatler magazine was in 1989 when
fashion director and style icon Isabella Blow, where after seeing him turn up to
the interview with one of his now-signature designs she asked him if he could
make a hat for her for her upcoming wedding to Detmar Blow. Up until her death
in 2007, Philip worked closely with Isabella with her acting as his agent, model
and muse and establishing a longstanding career. Over the course of his career
Philip based himself in three London studios: Two in Belgravia (One in the
basement of Isabellas house on 69, Elizabeth Street and one 600m down the
road from the first) and a third in Battersea. He became a regular at London and
Paris fashion festivals with hats that constantly featured or were built to
resemble plants, feathers or both and several that resembled twisting leaves or
reams of fabric.
When speaking to interviewers, Philip explains that much of his
inspiration comes from natural constructs that he was inspired form childhood,
particularly his exposure to wildlife from his rural upbringing and the large
number of various birds that his parents kept. These signatures echo though his designs, of particular note
being the plant-like designs he made for his Haute Couture Orchid collection displayed at the January 2000
Paris Fashion Week. Since becoming a professional Milliner, Treacy has come to earn at least four British
Accessory Designer of the Year awards and was the face of the first ever Parisian haute couture show
dedicated to hats. He went on to display his work in various venues from New York to Florence and often
returning to present at fashion displays in London and Paris.
Figure 1: Tracey in 2014 (Hello!, 2014)
Figure 2: The late Isabella
Blow, wearing one of Treacy's
designs. (Abraham, 2011)
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2011 however saw a decline in his popularity when the 36 hats he
had made for celebrity guests to the royal wedding of Prince William of
Wales and Duchess Kate of Canterbury were met with confusion and
ridicule by the press and public; particularly a hat worn by Princess
Beatrice that while intended to resemble an accented bow of a Victorian
doll, has been compared to all sorts from an octopus and a pretzel to
most infamously a toilet seat.
Despite the recent ridicule, Treacys work continues to inspire as
he remains a prominent figure in the fashion world with artists such as
Lady Gaga, Naomi Campbell, Cher and Boy George falling for his
outlandish and quirky designs. More recently in 2010 Lady Gaga one of
his close and more prominent clients requested an internship at
Traceys studio looking to learn from him.
Philip Treacys designs commonly feature or are built around feathers, thin extended shapes or
leaves. Even when a design does not include feathers specifically, they are often evoked by long protruding
objects that extend out a long way from the hats base as a way of increasing the profile. Some of his designs
could be compared to spine-like leaves or long grass either split somewhere or twisted around itself. Of the
hats shown in the images within this document, the hat own by Isabella Blow vaguely resembles a peacock
while despite the controversy of what its supposed to be, Treacy himself informed the daily Mail that
Beartrice in her planned dress reminded him of a 'beautiful, exotic, Victorian doll' (Abraham, 2011).
All of his hats are made by hand in front of a mirror with fabric secured to a wireframe that is then
stiffened by being coated in a liquid solvent the shapes are all handmade, theyre too complex and fine to
be carved out of wood says Treacy (Davies, 2013, p. 69) to explain the construction of is design, and it
works well as he is able to make highly flexible and unorthodox designs that are also very light, which is
important in regards to being worn as several of his designs can be very large or unbalancing by eye.
Bibliography
Davies, K.; 2013; hats off to the preacher man; Lux Magazine; published 19th April 2013; http://lux-
mag.com/2013/04/19/hats-off-to-the-preacher-man/ (last accessed 28th October)
Woodward, C.; 2014; Philip Treacy: How my flower hats bloossomed; The Telegraph;
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/10741693/Philip-Treacy-how-my-flower-hats-
blossomed.html (last accessed 28th October)
Abraham, T.; 2011; 'I felt hurt for her - there was bullying going on': Philip Treacy defends Princess
Beatrice and THAT Royal Wedding hat; Mail Online http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-
2013961/Princess-Beatrices-Royal-Wedding-hat-Philip-Treacy-defends-it.html (last accessed 30th
October)
Blow, I., Treacy, P., Bowles, H.; 2002; Philip Treacy When Philip Met Isabella; Assouline Publishing,
New York, USA; 1
st
Ed.; ISBN: 2 84323 372 0
Davies, K.; 2013 Philip Treacy by Kevin Davies; Phaidon Press; London, England; 1
st
Ed.; ISBN: 978 0
7148 6527 0
Unknown; Philip Treacy; Hello! Magazine; http://www.hellomagazine.com/profiles/philip-
treacy/biography/ (last accessed 30
th
October 2014)
Figure 1: Beatrice's "pretzel hat" at the
Royal Wedding (Abraham, 2011)
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Milligan, L.; 2010; Gagas Internship; Vogue; published 18
th
May 2010;
http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2010/05/18/lady-gaga-intern-for-philip-treacy (last accessed 30th
October 2014)
Chernikoff, L.; 2011; Philip Treacy on Lady Gaga as his Intern, Isabella Blow, And the Princess Beatrice
Hat Backlash; Fashioista; published 11
th
July 2011; http://fashionista.com/2011/07/philip-treacy-on-
lady-gaga-as-his-intern-isabella-blow-and-the-princess-beatrice-hat-backlash-says-he-didnt-give-a-f-
about-bloggers (last accessed 30th October 2014)
Unknown, 2011; Gaga Wants Millinery Internship; BBC News; published 19
th
May 2010;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10127374 (last accessed 30th October 2014)
Image Sources
[figure 1] Unknown; Philip Treacy; 2014; Hello! Magazine;
http://www.hellomagazine.com/imagenes/profiles//philip-treacy/2913-philip-tracy-pb.jpg; (last
accessed 30
th
October 2014)
[Figure 2] Lentati, A.; Isabella Blow; 2011; Daily Mail Online;
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/07/12/article-2013961-000015A600000CB2-449_224x423.jpg;
(last accessed 30
th
October 2014)
[Figure 3] Getty; Princess Beatrice in Controversial Treacy Hat; 2011; Daily Mail Online;
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/07/12/article-2013961-0BE7BA5400000578-360_468x582.jpg
(last accessed 30th October 2014)