Exhibit Cops a Positive “HATtitude” Toward Headwear
By on February 10, 2014
White Plains, NY—For aficionadas, you can’t get enough of them, much less walk out your door without one on—hats that is.
But for those who say “I just can’t find a hat for me,” then it’s time to visit “HATtitude: The Milliner in Culture & Couture,” an exhibition at ArtsWestchester that opens Tuesday, featuring more than 160 hats from 40 contemporary milliners and private collections.
Hats are Art with a capital “A” as demonstrated by the selections picked out by ArtsWestchester. “The exhibition will prove what the Duchess of Cambridge and Lady Gaga already know–that hats are more than mere accessories, they’re the crowning glory of any fashion statement,” says Kathleen Reckling, gallery director.
HATtitude consists of functional hats, whimsical hats, hats from bygone eras and from different global cultures, providing context for contemporary designs while examining the hat’s enduring social significance.
‘Stand Out in a Crowd, Wear a Hat’
“According to an old saying,” says ArtsWestchester CEO Janet Langsam, ‘If you want to get ahead, wear a hat.’ That’s particularly true in today’s day and age as hats are becoming more like works of art and fewer people are wearing them. So to stand out in the crowd, wear a hat.” A well-designed hat is as much a statement about its maker as is it about its wearer.
In addition, the exhibition contains a mini-exhibition-within-the-larger show, namely “One Block, Many Milliners.” Here, the 40 different hats on display in this area were all formed from the same basic hat shape. The collection emphasizes the creativity of milliners, who see endless artistic possibilities in a simple form. “One Block, Many Milliners” is organized by members of the Milliners Guild, an organization of small millinery business owners and milliners who specialize in the design, production and promotion of handmade headwear.
“HATtitude: The Milliner in Culture & Couture” is curated by Kathleen Reckling, MA; Judith Schwartz, PhD; and Thomas VanBuren, PhD, and is presented thanks to support from the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York Council for the Humanities.
Additional hats on loan from the collections of: Ballet Folklórico Acuarelas del Perú, Sana Musasama, Judith Schwartz, and Louise Green.
HATtitude opens Tuesday and runs through April 12. Gallery Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 12 to 5 p.m. at ArtsWestchester, 31 Mamaroneck Ave., White Plains, NY. Check www.artswestchester.org/hattitude for additional information and the schedule for lectures by fashion and art historians as well as hands-on workshops lead by exhibiting milliners.
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