"The success of a hat definitely lies..." - Phillip Treacy

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June 16, 2016 5:12 PM

Philip Treacy was born on 26 May 1967 in Ahascragh, in County Galway in the West of Ireland. He moved to Dublin in 1985 to study fashion at the National College of Art and Design, where he made hats to go with outfits he designed.

Phillip Treacy

"The success of a hat definitely lies with balancing the personality of the wearer with the type of occasion. Don't listen to those rules about face shape." - Phillip Treacy.

Philip Treacy was born on 26 May 1967 in Ahascragh, in County Galway in the West of Ireland. He moved to Dublin in 1985 to study fashion at the National College of Art and Design, where he made hats to go with outfits he designed.

From there, in 1988, Treacy won a place on the MA fashion design course at the Royal College of Art in London, where he graduated in 1990 with first class honours.

In 1989 he took one of his hats to Michael Roberts, fashion editor of Tatler magazine, and his style editor, Isabella Blow.

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Blow asked Treacy to make a hat for her to wear for her wedding, and invited him to live with her and her husband Detmar in their home, from which Treacy started working.

Isabella Blow not only helped Treacy to launch his millinery career, but famously wore many of his hats herself. One of Treacy's hats was chosen by Blow as part of her selection for the 1997 Dress of the Year, alongside a purple coat designed by Deborah Milner with whom Treacy shared a studio at the time.

Philip Treacy has designed hats for Alexander McQueen, including his white collection for Givenchy Haute Couture, for Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel, and for Valentino, Ralph Lauren and Donna Karan.

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