COLLABORATION

HATS OFF TO JOSEPH ABBOUD AND ALBERTUS SWANEPOEL

WORDS

by KRISTOPHER FRASER

PHOTOS

COURTESY of PURPLE PR

South African milliner Albertus Swanepoel’s hat designs have been featured in the runway shows of prominent fashion designers for years. The milliner has worked with Carolina Herrera, Alexander Wang, and Narciso Rodriguez in the past. This season at New York Fashion Week: Men’s, he teamed up for a fourth time with Joseph Abboud, one of the master’s of the men’s suit. 

“When we were opening our Joseph Abboud Black Label store on Madison Avenue, I always believed in special items, because that’s what made specialty stores so great,” Abboud said. “What makes a good specialty store is informed and uniquely curated product. Albertus, who is a very talented designer, made me feel like we could really create special hats with him that would really work with our collections. We do them in limited-editions.” 

He added that, “Albertus is a creative individual, that’s what I love about him. When we work on the collection we talk about color, shape and mood. This show was about individuality, so hats were more worn.” 

Each hat is numbered for the season and signed by Joseph Abboud himself, making each one truly one-of-a-kind. Hats became such an important part of Abboud’s collections because of his belief that men need options when it comes to fashion. 

Joseph Abboud X Albertus Swanepoel

“I’ve been doing menswear for a lot of years, and it’s important we don’t lose categories in menswear,” Abboud said. “Men have limited options, whereas women have more range, so accessories are important. Hats need to look like they belong to a guy, even on the runway we are careful of which hats go on which model. Hats have to fit the personality.” 

Both Abboud and Swanepoel worked tirelessly to ensure that each hat is so incredibly unique that they are true collectors items. They worked on the process together every step of the way from discussing hat shapes, selecting trends to include, and what finishing each hat should have.

“It’s interesting because it’s very symbiotic,” Abboud said. “Albertus understands men’s hats, and he knows what shapes are popular. He’s all about texture and personality.” 

Hats off to another season for this collaboration. 

“Albertus, who is a very talented designer, made me feel like we could really create special hats with him that would really work with our collections.”

Joseph Abboud x Albertus Swanepoel

Joseph Abboud x Albertus Swanepoel

Joseph Abboud x Albertus Swanepoel

Joseph Abboud x Albertus Swanepoel

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