Hat
Having designed for film and theater for many years, Adrian was accustomed to researching historical dress in preparation for creating costumes that would evoke a particular period. When he turned to fashion design, he similarly drew on historic sources for inspiration, but with the intention of integrating elements of past styles into current fashions without creating a costumed effect. Adrian’s fall 1943 collection was notable for the prevalence of hat styles displaying the influence of medieval headwear, including hoods, wimples, and hennins. This hat, with its broad, downward-sloped brim, resembles functional straw hats worn by both men and women during the Middle Ages to shield their faces from the sun, and its high crown echoes the steeple-like form of the hennin, a tall headdress common in France in the second half of the fifteenth century. The overall effect, however, was in harmony with contemporary fashionable dress.
Artwork Details
- Title: Hat
- Designer: Gilbert Adrian (American, Naugatuck, Connecticut 1903–1959 Hollywood, California)
- Date: ca. 1943
- Culture: American
- Medium: straw, silk
- Credit Line: Gift of Sandy Schreier, in honor of Harold Koda, 2017
- Object Number: 2017.317.1
- Curatorial Department: The Costume Institute
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