Chapeau! Stephen Jones at Palais Galliera

From post-Beatles Liverpool to the Parisian haute couture runways, from the charmingly lyrical to the grandly sculptural and utterly extravagant, the exhibition Stephen Jones, Chapeaux d'Artiste at the Palais Galliera offers a wonderful retrospective of the creations of the British milliner, whose extraordinary output is weaved in some of fashion’s greatest moments in the last 50 years.

Since he started in 1980, Stephen Jones has carried on the tradition of the great milliners who have left their mark on the history of hats such as Caroline Reboux, Rose Descat, Madame Paulette, Gilbert Orcel, Albouy, among others.

Unlike hatters who produce hats series, most often made from felt, straw or fabric, in a factory or small workshop, milliners are devoted to the art of the hat at its most creative, producing unique pieces that are made-to-measure or made in very small series. At the pinnacle of this sector, haute mode is the hat's equivalent of haute couture for clothing, with the same demands for creativity, technicality, richness of materials and uniqueness.

Born in the north-west of England in 1957, and schooled in Liverpool, the milliner opened his first salon in London in 1980, and was soon presenting two hat collections a year. He went on to work in haute couture and gradually forged close links with some of the world's leading fashion houses and designers, including Jean Paul Gaultier, Claude Montana, Thierry Mugler, Vivienne Westwood, John Galliano and the Maison Christian Dior, Comme des Garçons, Walter Van Beirendonck, and Louis Vuitton.

Jones is often described as the most 'Frenchified' of English milliners and his attachment to Paris is reflected in his own collections, in his sources of inspiration and in his chosen themes: symbols of Paris and of French history, the image of the Parisian woman, and tributes to French couturiers.