EDUCATION
Her work has been recognised through awards, exhibitions, and commissions. In 2024, she received the Craftsmanship Award at the Feltmakers Design Awards for Medusa and in 2025, she was invited by the British Hat Guild to exhibit at London Craft Week with Céleste. Most recently, her piece Løv was commissioned and worn by the Duchess of Gloucester for Commonwealth Day 2026 at Westminster Abbey.
Mia Brennan
www.instagram.com/
mia.lin. moore By day, Mia Brennan is a visual merchandiser based in Kent. Still, over the years, she has quietly dedicated time to courses, internships, and freelance work to grow her millinery skills. What began with a two-hour fascinator workshop at her local library led to studio experience with Stephen Jones, Vivienne Lake, and Julian Garner. Mia received a training bursary from Heritage Crafts to support her studies, during which she found her voice,
exploring layered torn wool felt, naturally stained corrugated card, and recycled cotton paper. Looking ahead, Mia describes "the ultimate dream would be to see some of my work featured in fashion editorials and couture catwalks. But I'm realistic enough to know that there is so much to learn, so the next steps for me will be to seek out a millinery assistant role to continue to grow."
Sara Cobbett
www.instagram.com/ hatsbysarajane Sara Jane began her millinery journey after deciding to leave her career in financial services to pursue creativity and create headpieces that would "complete an outfit" and help women feel better about themselves. Inspired by nature and family, her piece, Autumn Leaves, features a continuous brim that sweeps around the head to evoke motion and grace. The leaves, crafted from felt and skeleton leaves with bead details, are positioned to suggest windswept movement, while an acorn nestled within symbolises the cycle of nature and new beginnings. Sara says she will have achieved her goal when people wearing her hats look in the mirror, smile, and think to themselves, "Darn it – I look good!"
Marine De La Bernardie Marine fell in love with hats twenty years ago in the atelier of a French milliner. The demands of motherhood and military life prevented her from fully pursuing the craft until she later found herself in London with the opportunity to undertake formal training. The course proved rich in challenges and discoveries, and her collection explored the metaphor of the ‘floral woman’, associated with beauty, grace, sensuality, and fragility, evoking ideas of blossoming and the delicacy of petals. The programme has given her the confidence to begin working as a milliner and to develop her own brand, Marine de La Bernardie Millinery.
Hout- en Meubilerings- college Amsterdam
(HMC Amsterdam)
www.hmcollege.nl HMC Amsterdam offers the Creative Craftsman programme in Leather and Textiles, taught by hat designer Marga van der Bos for over a decade. In the first year, students make shoes, bags and hats before specialising. Millinery students then focus on a wide range of materials, with projects shaped by their individual design direction and training that prepares them to become both designers and entrepreneurs.
38 | the hat magazine #110
Photo: Charlotte Wilmore
Photo: Paget Bourke
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