iD Dunedin International guest British milliner Stephen Jones has a dossier spanning more than 30 years that sparkles with the originality and creativity of his hats and the spectacular personalities that they adorn. He spoke to Jude Hathaway from his home in London.
It was 8pm in London when celebrity milliner Stephen Jones picked up the phone, the end of the day. But the Englishman would not be hanging up his hat for long. His alarm clock was set for 3.30am to give him time to catch a flight across the English Channel to Paris Fashion Week.
Despite the prospect of an early start, he was happy to chat, his voice warm and enthusiastic as he talked of his trip to Dunedin to attend the iD Dunedin Fashion Week as the international guest.
He has been in New Zealand once before, a couple of years ago, he says, spending time in the North Island with family members who have settled in Auckland and Whangarei.
Indeed, his ties with the country are strong.
''When I was growing up my parents lived near Heathrow Airport and whenever any of the New Zealanders arrived, they always spent their first few days staying with us.''
This was before he began blazing his stellar career path during London's heady street-style days of the late 1970s, while he was still a design student at Central Saint Martin's College of Art and Design. By 1980, having discovered his love of hat-making, he had opened his first millinery salon in Covent Garden. The salon attracted everyone from rock stars to royalty, including Boy George and Lady Diana.
Thirty-three years on and with three London workrooms and a team of 20 adept assistants (''they're a real United Nations and all a bit crazy''), Jones' originality and inventiveness attract a vast celebrity clientele.
And New Zealanders continue to be part of his life. Among his good friends are fashion writer Hilary Alexander and Tim Blanks, senior editor of Style.com. Alexander was last year's iD Dunedin international guest.
Jones believes fashion design is a reflection of its particular location.
''Paris fashion is right for that city and that climate, Brazilian fashion is right for Brazil and I'm really looking forward to seeing more of your New Zealand fashion because it, too, will be right for your country.
''Over here we tend to look on New Zealand as where you respect the environment, where you have unspoiled countryside and where you work towards eco-friendly fashion that works harmoniously with the body.''
The milliner's Kiwi trip comes after a hectic time. In recent weeks he's gone from London Fashion Week to Paris Fashion Week, at which his work punctuated the Galliano ready-to-wear show and graced the catwalk models of Swedish jeans company Acne (Ambition to Create Novel Experiences) Studio, among others.
Antwerp was next for the launch of a magazine he has guest-edited. He then sets off on the long flight that will see him arrive in Dunedin early next week.
''I'm very good at resting on flights,'' he says with a chuckle.
The prolific milliner who had British fashion circles sitting up and taking notice from the start, has created evocative hat collections twice-yearly since 1980. In 1990 he launched his Miss Jones and JonesBoy diffusion lines, followed by JonesGirl accessories in 1993. JonesGirl is exclusive to Japan.
A multitude of collaborative projects include a longstanding working relationship with British designer John Galliano, who left the House of Dior last year. Other international heavies with whom he has collaborated include Vivienne Westwood, Jean Paul Gaultier, Thierry Mugler, Dries Van Noten, Rei Kawakubo, of Comme Des Garcons, and Balenciaga. Zandra Rhodes, who was iD Dunedin Fashion Week international guest two years ago, is another with whom he has worked.
His headwear has also injected sting into outfits for pop groups, musicians, films and promotions and a swag of celebrity private clients.
Within these collaborations, is he given free rein?''Sometimes, but I've often said that `I am given carte blanche until they don't like it!'.''
(There's that chuckle again.)''Usually clients have a very strong idea as to how they want things to be. Maybe they don't know exactly what. Maybe they can't express it. They often, however, know what they don't want. And so it's my job to set about finding out what they have in mind. It's a matter of baby steps.
''I think this happens in any creative business. There needs to be time to breathe. I would never go in and say `well, I think all your hats should be black'. That could crush them. They need to feel relaxed and secure - this way it's easier for them to work towards their decisions.''
For Jones, the enjoyment he gets from his work comes from its variety, which gives him, as a milliner, a freedom that fashion designers often do not have. He explains: ''I can make a hat for Ascot one day and a baseball cap the next, but being a fashion designer means making an individual mark and maintaining that individuality within a huge industry.''
But this freedom and his broad experience does not mean that his work has become any less challenging.
''For various reasons I still become anxious when I take my hats along to a client. This might be because the client is not a `hat person' and may not understand hats, or I worry that my samples might not have been finished well enough. I guess I am often looking for a problem.
''It's so much about personalities. Making a hat for a designer or a private client becomes an extension of your relationship or friendship with that person.''
Knowledge of a client, he says, is also important because it is who they are or who they want to be that is put into the design of the hat.
He finds many people want to live a dream through a hat.
''A hat is not something you merely put on - it is something you become,'' he has said in the past.
French actress Audrey Tautou came to the same conclusion when she played Coco Chanel in the film Coco avant Chanel. Jones' hats, she said, made it easier for her to step into the role.
Many turn to Jones for advice about hat-wearing, especially for a formal event.
''This is to do with the etiquette and relevance of the hat,'' he says.
''However, more people now are also wearing hats every day for both practical reasons and for fun.''
Amid the colour, the drama and the excitement of this rich life there have been numerous incandescent interludes. But two stand out, he says. The first was in 1984 when Jean Paul Gaultier invited him to Paris to make hats for his show - a break that ensured European designers were made aware of his work.
''This really did change my life.''
The second came in 2010 when he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).
It's not surprising really that when this delightful gentleman was once asked where he gets his inspiration he replied: ''It comes from living my life and turning it into a hat.''
So what style of hat to choose?
The face, milliner Stephen Jones says, is the primary consideration when choosing a hat, although those of a short stature should stay away from wide-brimmed styles that will make them appear even shorter.
''A broad face suits wider brims, a long or square face suits asymmetrical shapes, which soften the lines. If glasses are worn, a hat turned up at the front is a good option.''
Jones, although he has lately favoured a felt hat, finds the flat cap the ideal headwear. It suits his lifestyle, is right for every occasion and keeps his head dry and warm.
''And, because I don't treat my hats very well, a flat cap is one that can't really be messed up!''Plastic fantastic ... A model wears a Stephen Jones ''trash bag'' hat on the runway at the Louise Gray show during London Fashion Week last month.
Stephen Jones at iD
• Stephen Jones Public Lecture. Stephen Jones gives a public lecture at midday, at the Hutton Theatre, Otago Museum, on Thursday March 14.
• Stephen Jones will be at the Golden Centre Mall in Dunedin from 3pm to 3.30pm on Thursday.
• iD Dunedin Fashion Show. A retrospective collection of 33 hats by Stephen Jones is part of the iD Dunedin Fashion Shows on Friday and Saturday nights, March 15 and 16, on the platform at Dunedin Railway Station.