Collections Research volunteer Jade explored the story behind The Featherbone Dandelion (Object No. 92/1969) by renowned milliner Phillip Treacy in the Powerhouse Collection. Created early in Treacy’s career for the 1992 Australian Fashion of the Year Awards, the hat is made almost entirely from cockrel (young male chicken) feathers that have been stripped, woven, and attached to a grosgrain ribbon crown. The result is an ethereal, sculptural work that sits somewhere between fashion and art.
Born in the west of Ireland, Treacy moved to Dublin in 1985 to study fashion at the National College of Art and Design. While studying, he began making hats as a hobby and developed a passion for millinery. As part of his course requirements, he secured a six-week work placement with London-based milliner Stephen Jones, an experience that would help shape his future career.
After graduating, Treacy moved to London and enrolled in the Royal College of Art’s first-ever millinery course in 1988. A year later, he approached Michael Roberts, then fashion editor of Tatler, and style editor Isabella Blow. Blow was immediately captivated by his work and commissioned a hat for her wedding. She became Treacy’s patron and champion, providing him with a space to work from the basement of her London home and introducing his designs to the fashion world.
Treacy’s career quickly gained momentum. In 1991 he began designing hats for Chanel, including a striking twisted birdcage design photographed by Patrick Demarchelier and worn by Linda Evangelista on the cover of British Vogue. The same year, he was named British Accessory Designer of the Year by the British Fashion Council, an award he won again the following year.
In 1993, Treacy debuted his first collection at London Fashion Week. The show featured an all-black collection of hats and was modelled by some of the decade’s most celebrated supermodels, including Naomi Campbell, Yasmin Le Bon, Kate Moss, Christy Turlington and Stella Tennant, who participated in exchange for hats rather than payment. He opened his first London boutique in 1994 and continued to push the boundaries of millinery.
Treacy’s influence on fashion continued to grow internationally. In 2000, he became the first accessory designer ever invited by the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture to present a haute couture show in Paris dedicated exclusively to hats. He later received the Chinese International Designer of the Year Award in 2004 and, in 2005, completed his first interior design project at The G Hotel in Galway, Ireland. In recognition of his contribution to the fashion industry, he was awarded an OBE in 2007.
Throughout his career, Treacy has been supported by influential figures including Isabella Blow and Vogue Italia editor Franca Sozzani. His glamorous, imaginative and often sculptural creations have redefined millinery, transforming hats from traditional accessories into statements of artistic expression. Treacy has remarked that he is “constantly challenging the perception of what a hat should be and what role it should play,” believing that hats are no longer symbols of conformity but “highly individual acts of rebellion.”
His extraordinary designs have been embraced by celebrities, supermodels and royalty alike. Treacy created headwear for films including the Harry Potter series, notably the iconic Beauxbatons hats seen in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. His creations have also been worn by figures such as Lady Gaga and Sarah Jessica Parker. At the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in 2011, thirty-six of his hats were worn by guests, including Princess Beatrice’s much-discussed “pretzel hat.” His work also featured prominently at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Treacy’s many awards and honours reflect the impact he has had on the fashion industry, but his enduring legacy lies in his ability to transform millinery into an art form. For Treacy, hats are more than fashion accessories—they are objects that should evoke emotion, spark imagination and make the heart beat faster.
A special thank you to Jade for uncovering the remarkable story behind this beautiful object and the visionary designer who created it.
Research by volunteer Jade, blogpost by Karen Griffiths (Volunteers Program Officer)