Wooden Hats by Keely Hunter

Keely Hunter is a London based hat designer presently making wooden hats! I love the idea of a wooden hat and had a chat with Keely about her inspirations.What inspired your collection?'NEW BUILD' for me was all about contributing to design in a directional sense, hence I have produced a series of pieces made from wood and other non-traditional millinery materials. The focus is 5 minimalist designs with a maximalist twist. Punctuated by splashes of bold colour and drawing inspiration from architecture and conceptual sculpture I wanted to create a bold sense of design that looks firmly towards the future.Where did you study?I graduated from an HNC in Millinery from Kensington & Chelsea College (the course is taught by Kirsten Scott, who used to be the milliner at Chanel). Before turning to millinery I was a product developer/buyer in tailoring at Arcadia.Are the wooden hats light, easy to wear?The Mohawk is a bit heavy - but amazing! But everything else is actually quite light. Weight was obviously a key consideration during the design process, but this is something I have controlled so the pieces are wearable.  I asked Keely for a brief description of her hats:Wood MohawkBirch, balsa and perspex create a sculptural hat giving a contemporary take on the classic punk-rock hairstyle.Hinged CapTreated balsa-wood, connected together using internal aluminium hinges creating a sense of movement to the piece, which essentially turns the wood into a fluid fabric which allows curves and shape in a material that is normally flat and hard.Walnut Veneer FanWalnut and walnut burr with veneer.