Interview
‘Victoria Grant: Beyond the Veil’
HIX Magazine, London
For the occasion of British millinery artist Victoria Grant’s collaborative exhibition with Yurim Gough at HIX Gallery, I interviewed Victoria for the 2018 summer edition of Saatchi Art & Music Magazine.
The interview focused on Victoria’s inspiration and recent bodies of work, her fascination with the ceramic universe of Gough, and their mutual care for self-expression, gender fluidity and craftsmanship in an age of increasing social technologies.
Extract —
“Head, shoulders and hats above the rest—or so they will never say. Alas, if there were ever a designer worthy of the mantle, London-based milliner Victoria Grant is most certainly that. Widely respected as contributing to the global prestige of British hat design, Victoria’s creations marry haute couture with a moxie love for heritage and all things British. Think Annie Lennox drinking champagne in the back of a Bentley. First launching her Notting Hill atelier back in 2007, Victoria has since been christened the ‘celebrity hatter’, with an exclusive client list including the lights of Madonna, Anna Dello Russo, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé and Cara Delevingne. Her Kiss beret—adorned with goose pointers and a crystal veil—voted ‘best hat’ at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Inspired by all things British, Victoria’s first enthusiasm for hats came at a young age visiting the Honourable Artillery Company with her father—a Pikeman with the Pikeman & Musketeers. Himself an eccentric collector, military hats and ceremonial dress were the first of many symbols to infuse her work and foster its signature military-ritz panache. Victoria’s style has since developed to bring together Britain’s inveterate elegance through a combination of regent forms with tongue-in-cheek party spirit: anti-establishment tropes such as punk, anarchy and pacifism; leopard-print fur, neon cocktail, taxi and motel signs à la Costa del Sol; or, in the case of a particular showcase at Philip Mould & Co in 2017, hats adorned with antique portrait miniatures from the gallery’s Old Masters collection.
This March Victoria Grant will present a new exhibition at HIX Gallery, ‘Beyond The Veil’, presenting new works made in collaboration with South Korean ceramicist Yurim Gough. First encountering her work at a London Art Fair, Victoria was inspired by her traditional Korean porcelains, overalid with images exploring the intersection of migration with queer identity and social media, and cites a celebration of femininty, form and self-expression in both their practices that was impossible to ignore.”