Gigi Burris-O’Hara and Steven Stolman – all photos by Laurel Marcus
On Thursday night, I found myself immersed in the world of hats, both old and new, at the exclusive inaugural event of a new CFDA series. The CFDA Member-to-Member Conversation, featuring Steven Stolman and milliner Gigi Burris-O’Hara, was held at Freeman’s/Hindman Auctions, a boutique-like new addition to NYC with main headquarters in Chicago. The evening began and ended with a cocktail party where guests could try on the wares.
Handwritten labels
Eight of the late Bill Cunningham’s William J. hats were discovered in an attic and are now available for bidding in their Spring Fashion & Accessories Sale. The hats all display a glued-in handwritten label, as Bill couldn’t afford printed labels then. Vintage designer fashions from the sale and important jewels from an upcoming auction were also on view.
Steven Kolb and Lisa Smilor
Attendees included Milly designer Michelle Smith, jewelry designer Patricia Von Musulin, Jeffrey Banks, Alexandra Lebenthal, Joshua Kamei, Bill Cunningham muse Lana Turner, Regina Kravitz, Fern Mallis, and designer Alejandro Alsonso Rojas.
Fern Mallis
“There was no one like Bill and never will be again,” began Stolman as he narrated an accompanying young Bill Cunningham slide show. “He couldn’t be who he was due to the repression of his religious Boston upbringing. He was sent or fled to New York to the training program at Bonwit Teller in their advertising department.”
We know a lot of the rest – Bill was taken under the wing of Nona McAdoo Park and Sophie Meldrim Shonnard, the ladies at Chez Ninon – a part of Bonwit’s that knocked off European couture.
Slide show
He made headwear to match the fashions and some truly avant-garde summertime creations (a giant straw clamshell, an octopus, a hat complete with tinsel to the floor, providing what Stolman termed “its own built-in cabana”), earning him the name “The Mad Hatter” in his small pop-up on Jones Lane in the Hamptons.
“As a single man with a tuxedo, he was very popular and was invited everywhere. Unlike in his later years, he seemed to have no problem being a seated guest at a black tie dinner,” remarked Stolman. As masked balls were big, Bill also made several over-the-top face coverings with his signature feathers.
“Hats (in the late ’40 to ’50s) were the equivalent of bags today,” added Stolman. By 1960, when hairdresser Kenneth debuted the bouffant, Cunningham reportedly said he “knew the millinery business was finished.” Certainly, by 1970, hats were, as the Brits say, “all done and dusted.”
Here’s a fun fact I didn’t know: Bill lived in a seven-room duplex in Carnegie Hall and drove a Rolls Royce before becoming a fashion journalist. He downgraded to his famous studio apartment and ubiquitous bicycle. His neighbor above him was the well known photographer Bettina Cirone.
I was also unaware that Jacqueline Kennedy’s ill-fated pink suit was from Chez Ninon—a line-for-line copy of the Chanel version, which she could tell her many critics was made in America, not France. Also, did you know that Bill referred to Coco Chanel as “the wicked witch of the West”?
Bill Cunningham’s entire New York Times Sunday On the Street column devoted to Marilyn Kirshner
Of course, most of you know there’s no Bill Cunningham without his muse, Marilyn Kirschner, who would have been attending this event if not for the sad fact that her sister passed away after an extended illness that morning. Marilyn, one of the chosen few to whom Bill ever devoted an entire column, would have loved seeing her whole New York Times column, “The Color of Money in the Bank,” shown during the slide show.
Gigi and Steven
Finally, talk turned to Gigi in her own hat made of vintage tinsel, who sat patiently through way more Bill Cunningham slides and discussion. Burris-O’Hara, originally from Florida, studied RTW at Parsons, but upon attending Parsons, Paris realized her true calling was working with her hands as a maker of millinery. “There’s more joy and emotion in hats. When someone comes in (to her Chinatown store) and finds the right hat, they’re transformed,” she explained.
Regina Kravitz
While working on her senior thesis, she learned couture hat-making techniques and noted that Rihanna wore one of her hats. Gigi has collaborated with Disney, Star Wars, Christian Siriano, Brother Vellies, Oscar de la Renta, Monse, Brandon Maxwell, and others.
More hat modeling
Her hats are seen in the Sex and the City movie “And Just Like That…” and on Alan Cumming in “The Traitors.” She also worked with Mahershala Ali in Green Book and Margot Robbie for the Barbie tour. Her busy season will soon begin with the confluence of the Central Park Hat Luncheon, Save Venice, the Kentucky Derby, and a few other headwear-related events.
Still, according to Burris O’Hara, nothing beats the confidence the right hat gives the wearer. People in her store tend to gravitate to their dream chapeau, as she explains that usually, the first hat they are drawn to is the one they end up liking best.
Whatever is in your head can now be on your head and your heart, proving her statement that “hats are the most emotional accessories.”
Latest Comments:
My fave is the Gorski. Best look and function to me!
A Marvelous Tribute to IRIS, a one-of-a-kind work of art!
You beautifully, tastefully, and rightfully said it all. I do think Melania’s Adviser Herve Pierre influences her choices.
Fascinating article–fascinating man! Thanks, Marilyn!
LOVE all of this. Thank you, Marilyn. <3