SHIP SHAPE
Philip Treacy’s Ship Hat • 1995 • L'Uomo Vogue • Bruce Weber
How Marie Antoinette, with the skillful hands of French hairdresser Monsieur Léonard Autie, inspired an eighteenth century hair fad in a show of patriotism after a French naval battle in which the frigate, La Belle Poule, was victorious against the British. This coiffure, no doubt, later influenced legendary milliner Philip Treacy’s The Ship, a hat made for Isabella Blow in 1995.
Frégate de Junon hairstyle, as sported by Marie Antoinette • Image courtesy of Field Image Archive
“In 1778, France signed a treaty and formed an alliance with the fledgling United States and, therefore, against their traditional enemy, Britain. In the course of battle, a French frigate, the Belle Poule, badly damaged a British ship. The news quickly became a source of great pride for France and Paris was enraptured... “All Paris was enflamed by the news,” the Vicomtesse de Fars recorded, “and for a month the ladies enshrined its memory with an object of fashion of bad taste, called the Coiffure à la Belle Poule. This coiffure represented, more or less, a ship in full sail.” • Courtesy of Threading Through Time
Honor Fraser modeling Philip Treacy’s Ship Hat • February 1995 • British Vogue • Terence Donovan
The “17th-century Dalian or sailing ship hat… is Philip’s favorite creation out of all his literally thousands of hats. ‘I’d seen old renderings of ships in women’s hair,’ Philip told me. ‘It was a costume designer’s dream.’ The idea for this hat was inspired and created from a chapter in Olivier Bernier’s book, “Pleasure and Privilege,” Philip said. The chapter, called “Rule of Fashion,” was about life in France in the 1750s. “It described a British fleet admiral, D’Estaing, losing a famous battle to the French fleet,” Philip told me. ‘In celebration, women in Paris wore ships in their hair to go to the opera, and I loved the emotion attached to this.” • Courtesy of Beauty Shall Save The World
Coiffure à la Belle Poule • Circa 1778 • Image courtesy of Gallica Bibliothèque Nationale de France
Philip Treacy’s Ship Hat displayed on the mantle in the drawing room of Isabella Blow’s Belgravia home • London • March 2009 • The World of Interiors • Fritz von der Schulenburg
Coiffure à la Belle Poule • Circa 1778 • Image courtesy of Gallica Bibliothèque Nationale de France
Book of French Fashions for Hairstyles Since 1776 • Top Left : New Coiffure called la Frégate la Junon
Philip Treacy’s Ship Hat on display at the Isabella Blow : Fashion Galore! exhibition • 2013 - 2014 • Somerset House, London • Image courtesy of Peter Macdiarmid via Getty Images
A printed allegory celebrating France’s victory at The Battle of Grenada in July of 1779 • La Nimphe can be seen wearing the victorious sailor Comte d’Estaing in her coiffure • Circa 1779 • Image courtesy of Gallica Bibliothèque Nationale de France
Honor Fraser modeling Philip Treacy’s Ship Hat • October 8, 1994 • London Fashion Week
La Parure des Dames • Circa 1780 - 1789 • Image courtesy of Gallica Bibliothèque Nationale de France
Honor Fraser modeling Philip Treacy’s Ship Hat • October 8, 1994 • London Fashion Week • Kieran Doherty
Le négligé galant ornés de la coéffure à la Belle-Poule • Circa 1778 • Image courtesy of Gallica Bibliothèque Nationale de France
La Parure des Dames • Circa 1780 - 1789 • Image courtesy of Gallica Bibliothèque Nationale de France
Model sporting Philip Treacy’s Ship Hat • Kai Cem Narin
Marie Antoinette Gets a New Hat • Collage by Venus Oak
Coiffure à la Belle Poule • Circa 1778 • Image courtesy of Gallica Bibliothèque Nationale de France
Model wearing Philip Treacy’s Ship Hat • May 2009 • Dazed & Confused
Double image of David Gandy modeling Philip Treacy’s Ship Hat • Ram Shergill
Honor Fraser modeling modeling Philip Treacy’s Ship Hat beside Bryan Ferry for his album More Than This • 1995 • Nick Knight
Eccentric Fashions of the 18th Century showcasing the Coiffure à la Belle Poule
Postcard from the Isabella Blow : Fashion Galore! exhibition • 2013 - 2014 • Somerset House, London
Coëffure à la Belle Poule en 1778 • 1778 • Daniel Berger • Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
The infamous chapeau resting atop Isabella Blow’s coffin • May 15, 2007
