The Bite Magazine - Autumn/Winter 2021 - Issue 30

bitefashion M arthe Dumas searched long and hard to find her brand name before decid- ing on Chapeaux Marthe Dumas Paris which forms part of her name. Her two collections are entitled Minimaligne meaning ‘mini- malism' and Pheniz representing the ‘phoenix’; she’s currently working on her third. When designing her hats, she first makes a rough drawing of what she has in mind and, quite often, she finds the shape through the materials she uses. Then she tests the drafts until she achieves the shape she is most content with. “I like to write a story, a little text that represents the collections. For example, for Minimaligne, the text is, ‘Hoist sailor! The wind blows and waves the ocean. Under this rough sea which carries the boat towards new countries, the captain does not lose sight of the horizon.’ This line which crosses the landscape also surveys the bodies of tattooed sailors. The Minima- ligne hats cover these characters of the sea.’” She then added, “Those attentive to my hats will no- tice that I used colours, patterns or others things re- lated to the theme: navy blue, the sailor's waxed coat, the stripes, the horizon line (like the one on Joe the dreamer), the names of hats (Tim the fisherman, Ul- ysse the captain, etc). We can also notice a blue light present in all the photos (blue of the sky or the sea). In general, I'm very inspired by nature and art.” Marthe told me her hat designs represented different emotions, feelings, messages as well as character. “I make hats for collections but also tailor-made hats. I also like to participate in contests.” Her yellow hat won the prize for the most beautiful handmade hat in a competition organised by Rachel Trevor-Mor- gan, one of London’s successful milliners. Thankfully, she makes hats for men, women and children so you could get one for almost any occasion. In terms of time and the process, Martha says her the- atre hats made with canvas will take longer to com- plete than a felt hat. She firstly draws the model and then makes it or the material that inspires her directly. For a felt hat, Martha moulds the material on wood- en blocks or she will sculpt the material on a wooden head. Martha is inspired by Stephen Jones and Philip Treacy who she says are her stars. Regarding fashion designers, Martha is fond of Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, and Viktor & Rolf. Overall, when Martha starts designing a hat, she al- ways asks herself the following questions: What would I like to wear? What could make her stand out? She creates all types of hats and head ornaments such as berets and pillboxes. For the hat designer, there is a difference between collection hats and hats for com- petitions or catwalks. Collection hats are more ‘prac- tical’ for everyday life while hats for competitions are more ‘artistic’. An inspiring element is that she does not limit herself when she designs and creates her hats. As she perfectly states, “I'm more an artist than a craftsman for these hats.” Chapeaux Marthe Dumas Paris