Hats of the new age - New?

People just don’t want to go forward or stay at home, do they? As the nomadic era predicted by Jacques Attali, French Economist and scholar in ‘A Brief History of the Future’ seems to be realized finally even though it is a bit behind schedule (thankfully), one is enthralled by the fixed styles of the past and looks up to the ancestral trends. Besides, globalization is unifying and signifying cultures from out of home; for western fashion, the ethnical east always does. It’s been quite some time since one could see a great hat on the street. Time to bring it back, seems to be the chorus of various designers in the last spring 2011.

Pondering over the nomads of the Sahara, Giorgio Armani introduced into the collection the Alasho of the Tuareg tribe, celebrating passage onto maturity, in all its modes (which is the traditional use of the Alasho).

 Speaking of celebration, Missoni ceremonially used mortarboards which had a touch of inspiration from Lilly Daché’s famous square brim hat as it had the crown. Going back in time and looking at the years passed like days, Hermés showed hats with a twist of dressage corps style (owing to its horsey heritage) with brims like those of the ‘Boss of the Plains’ from the late 19th century. John Galliano advanced into the future of the past to the 20s, Paris hats.

 Marni rocked 50s swim caps with a rather leather helmet design.Marc Jacobs decided to stick on to the classy 70s. Dior sailed off with ‘South Pacific’ nostalgic sailor hats while Prada went Sombrero in urban stripes.

Lesson learnt: Baseball caps are banned. It’s time to get classy while getting inspired by the whole world.