Industrial Fashion’s Non-Fashion Hat
The label’s debut product is born from experimenting with manufacturing processes instead of trends
Spotted during this year’s London Design Festival at RCA’s Big Small show, which delved into contemporary contradictions, were some hats—striking in their simplicity. They’re the debut product from newly launched label Industrial Fashion, dreamed up by London-raised designer Julia Georgallis and German-born designer Dustin Jessen. As a counter to the trend-driven fashion industry, these two RCA grads are creating stylish accessories with looks influenced by traditional hat-making techniques and an experimentation with the industrial process itself.
The making of these interestingly-shaped felt hats is detailed in a four minute video. In it, Julia Georgallis asks in the video: “There’s 15, 16 pieces in a modern cap whereas in a top hat, there’s one moulding. So could you then put those two ideas together—combine the way a top hat is made and the way that a baseball cap looks?” Playing with paper, then plastic and also CNC machines, Georgallis and Jessen—who fully disclose that they knew “literally” nothing about hats beforehand—approached the task of creating a fashionable hat from a product design point of view. Forgoing the flamboyant found in couture or the overly precious aesthetics involved with bespoke headwear, the designers worked with Boon & Lane to create their own aluminum hat blocks, and with family-run Walter Wright factory to bring their designs to reality. The androgynous look from Industrial Fashion reminds us that hats, in today’s world, don’t necessarily have to scream anything but demure.
The hats are available for £80 in black, lime, blue or navy from the Industrial Fashion’s web store.
Images courtesy of the designers
