What’s the Irish millinery scene like in terms of support, competition, and demand for hats?


The Irish millinery scene has two main streams of work - weddings and races. The race meets and best dressed events run regularly from April to Sept with cash prizes, holidays and hotel stays on offer for the winners. With weddings there are the key bridal pieces as well


hats for the groom and the guests. However, the whole millinery industry has changed hugely in recent years and demand has slowed down, affected by things like the rise in the cost of living and fashion trends. So, I’ve had to seek out other areas of work. I’ve really pushed on social media and thankfully it’s helped. I currently have work in the pipeline with fashion designers, custom editorial campaigns and one-off pieces for events and parties around the world.


What are your next millinery ambitions?


Oh, I have so many goals! I love working with amazing fashion designers and on various media campaigns and editorials, so I hope that continues. I’d also love to create a hat for the Met Gala and a piece in a Vogue shoot would be high on my list. Let’s see what happens next!


www.michellekearnsdesigns.com


HATalk | APR 2026


INDEX PA G E


Photos by Dawid Tomaszeweski


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