Stephen Jones: In-focus

How do you see the evolution of how people see and wear hats throughout your career?

SJ: It’s very different, hats used to be very much occasion wear and now they have polarised it to be fantasy or totally functional as a beanie on a Monday morning.

Tell us about your design process. Where do you start? How do you think about the hat and the body?

SJ: I live my life and put it into a hat, so I never really stop designing in my head it’s just occasionally those ideas are put down on paper and become hats. I always think about the hat with the body because a hat is not a separate object it needs to become a part of the person

Tell us about your ability to bring other designers' vision to life. How are you able to be so creatively adaptable through your numerous collaborations and long-spanning relationships?

SJ: It’s really about bringing their imagination to life, it’s what we create together. That’s the key they couldn’t do it themselves and I couldn’t do it myself, it’s something we do together. I have to get inside their mind which is very unusual for an outsider.

" I live my life and put it into a hat. "

Tell us about your mentorship with Shirley Hex. How do you see the importance of learning the rules before you break them?

SJ: My time with Shirley Hex was extraordinary and she taught me the main principals of millinery, however after a couple of years she forced me out the nest and encouraged me to develop my own style in my own way.

How does British, London, and/or Paris culture influence your work?

SJ: Completely; British culture is a weird dichotomy of something that is very aristocratic or something that is very punk, but Paris brings something which is coquettish and mannered.

" It’s really about bringing their imagination to life, it’s what we create together. "

You've experimented with so many unconventional materials, how do you decide a material is meaningful to transform into a hat?

SJ: Well it has to serve the purpose of what the hat is trying to be, but also when you are making it, the hat serves the purpose of the fabric.

The Palais Galliera devoted a full retrospective to your work, what was it like seeing your work in this presentation? What do you want your legacy to be?

SJ: Number 1 it is an extraordinary honour to be included there. I could see my work, almost in the 3rd person, I didn’t see it as being uniquely personal but saw it as it being presented to others and I could analyse it quite dryly. My legacy to be that the pursuit of dressing can be a wonderful extension either of your character or who you want to be.

What do you think is a misconception about hats and the process of creating them?

SJ: That they are quick and easy, it’s very laborious because they are 3d objects.

Do you feel your design process is more learned or instinctual?

SJ: I think it’s a conversation of the two. I love learning about a particular subject and trying to transform that into a hat, but at the same time spontaneous expression is important because it looks fresh.

What other mediums of art inspire your hats the most?

SJ: I would probably say the most is architecture but nature as well as painting and sculpture, but the form of everything and everything, whether it’s an Opera or an apple, they tell a specific story.

SJ: Is there a hat you would never wear?

I would try everything, but not wear things which I didn’t feel were convincing i.e. a cowboy hat

What made the environment and culture of The Blitz a fertile ground for creativity?

SJ: Because it filled the vacuum that had been left by punk.

Do you have any favorite young milliners?

SJ: As the Chairman of the British Hat Guild, I am not allowed to say whether I do have or not

Where do you think people's fear around wearing hats comes from?

SJ: Sometimes it’s the fear of standing out too much and therefore assuming a greater importance than they feel they should have but often you can hide underneath hats too and hats can be the conversation for you.

Is there a hat that got away? An idea you've wanted to create but haven't yet actualized?

SJ: Yes I am always looking for that hat around the corner.

Culture

Skin Hunger: Camraface for Noén

October 01, 2026

For Noén, perfume, oil, and touch are at the foundation of everything they do. Inspired by Cleopatra's Egypt and made in New York, the brand's products prioritise human connection. Their new campaign, shot by Camraface, explores the tenderness and sensuality of human touch—and how we are so deprived of it.

"We are living through a quiet famine of touch. Everything is designed to be looked at, and almost nothing to be felt. Camraface's images ask us to come back to our senses — to remember that intimacy isn't only romance or in the bedroom. It's being close enough to be seen. That's what Noén is for," said Natalie Mankarious, founder of Noén.

Read our conversation with Los Angeles-based photographer Camraface below.

Photography by Camraface
Creative Direction and Production by Bo Don
Production by 010 Creative
Styling by Victor Cordero
Models Arta Gee and Irene Bueso

What does intimacy mean to you?

Intimacy to me is trust. It's that moment when someone lets their guard down and you get to see something real. It doesn't necessarily have to be romantic or sexual. It can be a look, a gesture, being comfortable enough to be vulnerable, or even just being still with someone. I think intimacy is really about feeling safe enough to be seen.

How does intimacy show up in your work as a photographer?

I've always photographed people pretty instinctively. I don't like to over-direct or make things feel too perfect. I want people to forget about the camera a little bit. A lot of my work is about getting close, physically and emotionally, and catching those little moments in between the "pictures" — the things that feel almost private. I think that's where intimacy shows up most in my work, in the moments that don't feel performed.

What inspired the images you created for Noén and Made to Be Touched?

The name Made to Be Touched really says so much on its own. I wanted the images to actually feel tactile, like you could almost feel them rather than just look at them. Skin, closeness, texture, movement, the way bodies naturally exist together. I didn't want it to feel overly polished or posed. I wanted it to feel human, sensual and a little imperfect. Like you're witnessing a moment instead of being shown one.

Culture

OMHU Throws a Look-Alike Contest… for the TEDDY Sofa

September 25, 2026

The TEDDY Sofa is so sought after that it’s among the most duped sofas on the internet. To no surprise, everyone wants one for themselves. Yes, it’s that stylish.

So, OMHU set out to fight the fakes the only way they could think to: by reclaiming the narrative behind being a phony. Hastily, the Danish furniture label rolled out a limited-edition TEDY (aka a self-made TEDDY dupe) and sold it on sites like Temu, Etsy, and dupe.com. This was step one.

The Iconic Dupe campaign continued with a showdown, a battle of the couches, if you will. Proving that their own is the most desirable of the knockoffs, OMHU teamed up with Office to put on a classic NYC-style look-alike contest at Lume Studios right off Canal St. The mission? Put the wannabes to rest.

Words by Selena Aiyla
Photography by Travis Bass

As a centerpiece for the event, there were six TEDDY dupes: five outsourced dupes from the internet, and one OMHU TEDY sofa. On their way into this orange-hued and couch-filled party, guests were presented with clipboards where they were asked to pick their favorite couch, note their own personal celebrity look-alike, and toss their name into the raffle. One lucky person would be chosen and would be able to keep the TEDDY sofa. And who better to crown the winner of the couch look-alike raffle than an already internet-famous look-alike? The guest of honor was none other than Miles Mitchell, who went viral in 2024 for winning the OG Timothee Chalamet contest in NYC that started the look-alike contest trend.

The videographer of the night recounts having told his friend before leaving earlier that day something along the lines of “Yeah, I’m shooting an event tonight. Probably a look-alike contest!” It was a joke. So, imagine the shock on his face when he showed up, and this was precisely what he was shooting. It was a concept that had the room chatting all night. Laughter, disbelief, and excitement were everywhere.

Guests mingled all night to sounds by DJ, Mona Matsuoka, filled with drinks by Misguided Spirits & Orion, and bites by Smør.

Culture

The Poetification of Georgia McCann

September 21, 2026

Fake tans, hazy hotel balconies, ketamine at Le Bain: welcome to the idiocratic realm of Georgia McCann, who makes all of the above sound poetic. While she may be best known as one of the chiselled faces of Bravo’s Net Gen NYC, the New York it girl is also a patron of the arts—though she may still be working up the nerve to call herself one.

Her debut poetry collection, Blue Afternoon, ruminates on Pasadena, infatuation, and artificial hearts, with the occasional duck sautéed in butter enjoyed in between. It’s intimate without being entirely autobiographical, drawing on overheard conversations, old memories, and the emotional detritus of coming of age. If Next Gen NYC is McCann’s life as seen through a manicured camera, Blue Afternoon is what happens when she bears it all. And dare I say she’s the first bravolebrity to do so with poetry.

Interview and Words by Caelan McMichael
Photography by Noah Shaub
Dress by Iseder

Did you always know you wanted to be a writer?

I’ve always been into writing. At the end of middle school, I did a creative writing internship at the Guggenheim and had such a blast. I still have my essays from then somewhere. I ended up using a variation of one of them in my college application. In high school, I was really into film, and I was always drawn to it because it combines visual and written storytelling. From there, I went to film school at NYU, and I focused on screenwriting. I’ve actually written six to eight features, but they’re all really shitty, so no one will ever see them.

How did you come to discover poetry and fall in love with it?

Poetry didn’t come into my life until my late teens or early 20s. I had a long-distance ex who sent me poems, and I started writing my own. Then I got into reading poetry, and in response, I started writing more. I’ve been writing poetry on and off for the last five years. It’s a medium I enjoy exploring, and I loved that there were no rules.

Tell me about the collection of poems in Blue Afternoon.

They’re not necessarily autobiographical. Some are conversations I overheard or other people’s stories. But some do relate back to my life. They are poems that feel like they have emotion behind them. They are instantaneous.

Do you feel like the poems encapsulate certain times in your life and act as touchpoints?

Yes, 100%. When I read them back, I can remember the phase of my life when I wrote each one. It came in waves. I can remember chunks of poems that came from a point in my life when I was more drawn to themes of friendship or love, while others have themes of childhood. It was sort of a reaction to whatever was going on in my life at the time. They capture a lot of growing up, and they’re emblematic of certain phases.

In reviewing all your old work, did it feel healing?

I spent an entire month editing before submitting, so I had to tap back into those moments in life to ensure emotional accuracy. I could see how things have evolved over years; in a way, it was like a creative journal.

Did you feel there was a connecting thread amongst all the poems?

I always understood that poetry books have an arc to them, but I obviously was never preparing to publish these, so finding that arc was really a challenge. These were poems I had written in the past that I then organized into a book. So thematically, they’re very different. They don’t all explore one topic.

Were there any spots that inspired your writing?

I was writing a lot when I lived in Pasadena, and I talk about that place in the poems. Pasadena was a big part of my summers in my early 20s. I happened to randomly go back for about a week right before we finalized the book, so I did my last round of editing there. It felt like an unintentional full-circle moment.

How do you feel about the title, poet?

I think poetry as a medium is still a vanguard. It’s gatekept, and I appreciate that. There’s a higher standard of quality in poetry than maybe in other mediums. It has more artistic form and standards. That said, I had to shake that idea off when I started writing. Outwardly, being a poet carries so much connotation and weight that, for me, it’s overwhelming. I do like writing poetry, but I also do so many other things. So I have this internal battle with that title because I don’t know if I can actually say that about myself.

But I would encourage people who are shy about an art form to just go for it.

What was it like for you entering this new space after being on a reality show? Those two worlds are so different from one another.

I was really wary. So much of my life is available for public viewing. I share a lot of my life publicly in a format that I have no control over.

Going into publishing, I didn’t want people looking with a magnifying glass at what I've written and thinking it was so biographical. Because it is, but it isn’t. I worried the book wouldn't get a fair shot.

But I see the show as a different medium; it’s its own artistic medium.