Hats Off To The Chic

Elisabeth Koch Millinery

To call Elisabeth Koch’s world-renowned millinery simply ‘well-known’ would be like placing Angelina Jolie on the C-List, but when Koch traded banking for beading five years ago, she never imagined her stylish creations would see this level of success. Her pieces have adorned the heads of fashionistas from the Chinese glitterati to British queen-to-be Kate Middleton, her daring designs are regularly spotted at the Royal Ascot and Melbourne Cup, and her work frequently graces the covers and editorial spreads of revered fashion magazines from Vogue to Harper’s Bazaar.

The only milliner of her class in Beijing, she also has colourful showrooms in Shanghai and New York, all bursting at the hand-stitched seams with RTW hats and fascinators that can take up to 3 days to make. From her current collection, must-haves include a stunning scarlet and black beaded disc, and a large grey and white flower with petals demurely covering one eye. Or, if you’re more bold, there are attention-drawing options like pink pompoms, wingspread butterflies, and even Chinese temples or the Eiffel Tower. From the prim and pretty to the wild and whimsical, the imaginative headwear from this revered atelier can be made to measure, to suit any occasion. That’s the hat sorted, now to find the dress!