The MoMu – Fashion Museum houses the largest collection of Stephen Jones hats – more
than 120 items – outside Great Britain, thanks to a long-term loan by the Antwerp private
collectors, Geert Bruloot and Eddy Michiels. On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of
Jones’s house, Stephen Jones Millinery, MoMu presents a retrospective exhibition.
The exhibition Stephen Jones & The Accent of Fashion guides you through the unique world of a
hatmaker who has worked with many of the greatest names in the international fashion scene
for three decades. Just as accents in a text can lead the reader to its intended reading, or to pronounce
and interpret the text correctly, a Stephen Jones hat brings its own specific punctuation
to a silhouette, to the overall image of a collection, a photograph or a film. In language, accents
often sit at a 45 degree angle, the angle most often used by Jones when placing a hat on someone’s
head.
Stephen Jones plays a unique behind-the-scenes role in fashion because of the unparalleled
freedom he is given by designers, allowing his work to influence the image of a collection. As
well as Stephen Jones’s numerous collaborations with designers, the exhibition also looks more
closely at his work in film, music and photography, his early years in the London of the New
Romantics, his unique relationship with fashion icon Anna Piaggi, and the sources of inspiration
behind his creations.
The exhibition centres on the Bruloot-Michiels collection, which has been complemented with
works from Stephen Jones’s own personal collection and archives, as well as works on loan from
the following institutions, designers and fashion houses: Aitize Hanson (Jean Paul Gaultier),
Azzedine Alaïa, Comme des Garçons, Christian Dior, Collection Thierry Struvay, Giles, Huis A.
Boon, John Galliano, Lanvin, Marc Jacobs, Musée des Arts et Histoires Genève – Collection
Danielle Luquet de Saint Gemain (Claude Montana, Thierry Mugler), Coccodrillo, Anna Piaggi
and Walter Van Beirendonck.
Exhibition design: Geert Bruloot
Curators: Geert Bruloot & Kaat Debo, in collaboration with Stephen Jones |