Bijou Van Ness

Feature Story in the LA Times!

Bijou — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 19:58:17 +0000

Victoria Namkung interviewed me several weeks ago for a piece she was doing about my hats for the Image section of the LA Times. The story was published this past Sunday in the 4th of July issue. It is a wonderfully written piece that details how hats are once again à la mode and how my timing is just right. Rounding out the article are quotes from the Bloomingdale’s accessories fashion director and the editor of trendcentral.com.

Click here to read the article.

Fall Collection Featured in Short Film

Bijou — Wed, 26 May 2010 00:52:56 +0000

One of my good friends, Sahag Gureghian, felt so inspired by the Bijou Van Ness collection that he wrote a script for a short film titled Le Chapeau, which was filmed in early May. Directed by Marie Tang, Le Chapeau is about the love that develops between an American photographer and a visiting French model after their chance encounter on a bridge. The story begins with the man explaining that the first thing he noticed about the woman was her hat. Creating the hat for this scene was especially exciting because the dress I chose to use was designed and sewn by my great grandmother in the late 1960s. The hat I designed is made of emerald colored velour felt imported from the Czech Republic and hand blocked and sewn in my studio into a classic wide-brim hat with a vintage pearl cluster pin in the back. It was such a thrill seeing the hat come to life alongside my great grandmother’s creation. The short film is now in post-production and will be released at film festivals this coming Fall. A shorter version will also be released on the site within the next two months…so stay tuned!

My Mom, The Style Icon

Bijou — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 20:07:50 +0000

I recently came across an amazing blog called My Mom, The Style Icon where readers submit pictures of their mothers during their style heyday. Inspired by this blog, I started digging around for a picture of my own mother during the ’60s, when she dressed to her best during the reign of the likes of Jackie O. and Grace Kelly. One of the reasons I started studying millinery was because of my mother’s hat collection dating back to that time. She was a graduate student at UCLA, preparing her doctoral thesis on French Literature, and worked as a teacher’s assistant in the French Department. While her passion for modernism inspired her to choose French existentialism as the main area of her graduate studies, her love for classicism brought about her love for beautiful couture hats. With a modest income, this would often require diligent saving on her part.

Armand of Beverly Hills, who was known for his exquisite hats and high profile clientele, grew to be my mother’s favorite milliner of the time. His work is exhibited in movies such as “What’s Up Doc?” where Barbara Streisand sports a custom made cap by Armand throughout the film. My mother’s love for hats has trickled down to me and it wasn’t long before I discovered my passion. Several years ago, she brought down a few dusty hat boxes from the back of her closet and showed me all the different hats that clearly marked different stages in her life: the black and red toyo straw hat she took on her first trip to France, to the white silk organza hat she wore on her wedding day. To this day, anyone would consider her collection a marvel to view as art, or wear as fashion. Each hat is made by hand from rich silks and fine straws, something so rare these days. It’s hard to pinpoint where exactly it started, but somewhere in all the beautiful commotion of these hats, which mark the decades of a full life, I decided to embark on my own journey: putting my life into that age-old art of the hat.

Jennifer Love Hewitt is a Fan!

Bijou — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 03:27:43 +0000

‘Ghost Whisperer’ star, Jennifer Love Hewitt, looks stunning with the Riviera Rose! Very excited to know she’s a fan of Bijou Van Ness and especially loves The Last Leaf and Riviera Rose.

The Millinery Guild Fashion Show during LA Fashion Week

Bijou — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 05:50:06 +0000

The newly formed Millinery Guild of Southern California organized a wonderful fashion show to showcase several members’ Fall 2010 collection of hats at the historic Spring Arts Tower in Downtown Los Angeles. The fashion show was produced by Brady Westwater and hosted by comedian and “life coach to the stars” La Coacha. Although I had collaborated with a FIDM student for the DEBUT fashion show the week before, this was the first time I had my own segment during a show. I got to experience first-hand all the excitement, planning, and craziness that takes place backstage. Even though the show was put together in less than three weeks, it ended up being a great success!

Special thanks to my good friends, Sona, Helen, Silva, Gohar and Anna for modeling my collection.

Pictures From FIDM DEBUT 2010

Bijou — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 02:41:51 +0000

DEBUT 2010 was hosted by FIDM alumni and Season Two ‘Project Runway’ contestant Nick Verreos. The show was held at Barker Hanger in Santa Monica and had such a huge turnout. I felt like I was in line for a ride at Disneyland just to enter the show. Above are pictures of the two hats I made for Juancarlos Fabian’s collection. What do you think?

Preparing for FIDM DEBUT Runway Show

Bijou — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 07:17:21 +0000

Last week, while purchasing millinery supplies for LA’s Fashion Walk, I was introduced to Juancarlos Fabian, a talented young fashion designer. He was preparing for the prestigious DEBUT fashion show presented by the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM) and held at the Barker Hanger in Santa Monica. Juancarlos was looking for a milliner to help complete two of the twelve outfits he designed. I was more than thrilled to take on the task and be part of such a fabulous event that attracts more than 10,000 people over the course of 3 days. Above is a sketch for one of the hats I’m working on. I can’t wait to see a Bijou Van Ness hat make its way down its very first runway. So exciting!

Downtown LA Fashion Walk

Bijou — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 19:04:03 +0000

The Millinery Guild, including Bijou Van Ness, participated in the Downtown Los Angeles Fashion Walk this past Thursday. The event took place at the Spring Arts Tower in the historic financial district. It was a fun evening full of music, fashion and all sorts of fabulous hats! Thanks to my good friends, who had the idea of making unique mannequin heads out of newspaper, I had a pretty cool display made out of Le Monde and Financial Times.

Perez Hilton’s Lady Gaga Vinyl Grammy Hat

Bijou — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 02:43:35 +0000

I had the pleasure of making a custom hat for Perez Hilton for the 2010 Grammy Awards. I turned Lady Gaga’s latest album Fame Monster into a Bijou Van Ness original. What better way to represent music’s biggest night than with a vinyl record designed as a hat?

For a custom made Bijou Van Ness hat, please contact me here.

Bijou Van Ness Featured on DailyCandy

Bijou — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 03:44:30 +0000

DailyCandy delivers a handpicked selection of the very best in style, fashion and fun. It’s every designers dream to be featured on Daily Candy and today that dream came true for me! The Bijou Van Ness debut collection of hats is featured in the Los Angeles edition of DailyCandy.

Click here to read the full article!