Headgear galore at the Paris Fashion Week

Whether a Christian Dior beret, a Jacquemus cocked hat or a Manish Arora turban, it will be hard not to wear a hat next winter. Designers went headgear-crazy on the Paris Fashion Week catwalks, as the event reached the half-way mark last Saturday.

Berets to the fore

The houndstooth beret by Wanda Nylon - PixelFormula
The beret is stereotypically French, whether a match with a baguette and a bottle of wine, or the glitzier version worn by Brigitte Bardot in the 'Bonnie and Clyde' song video. It is also a military and revolutionary emblem, as in Che Guevara or the Black Panthers. At Christian Dior, the black leather beret was the headgear of choice for all looks, worn tilted to the side with jumpsuits, worker overalls or flimsy, romantic dresses. Rihanna herself wore a beret front-row at the show.

Berets ruled at emerging label Wanda Nylon too, featured in a houndstooth fabric over a white knitwear dress, in a cowhide print over assorted overcoats or in patent leather over a multi-coloured, grunge-style knitted dress.

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 Cocky cocked hats

French designer Jacquemus steeped his 'Gypsy Love' collection in a mood echoing Spain and the 1950s, featuring black and white polka dot prints and variations on the black felt hat theme: the cloche hat, often worn low over the eyes; the cocked hat worn aslant, to add zest to a black or navy monochrome dress in a manner reminiscent of Picasso's Harlequin; or a new take on the matador's 'montera' hat.

Ceremonial and medieval headdresses

The Rick Owens show was akin to a modern-day religious ritual, celebrated by priestesses wearing unusual mitre-like headdresses, made out of sweatshirts rolled around a tall rectangular structure, the sleeves sometimes hanging down the sides of the priestesses' faces, like an orthodox monk's hat, sometimes covering the face completely, leaving only a slit to peer through.

Others had a hole in the middle, corresponding to the garment's neckline. In others still, the sleeves were fashioned into something similar to a donkey's ears, making the model look like some fantastical animal.

In the Ann Demeulemeester show, the models' heads were swathed in white veils, a cross between a bridal veil caught in a fierce breeze and a nun's cornet.

The collection by Japanese label Undercover had a distinctive medieval vibe, with a host of horned headdresses, helmet-style hats and veils worn together with neck-sleeves, the models wearing pheasant-feathered headgear that made them look like bizarre birds.

Turbans, bonnets and caps

Exotic, colourful turbans were omnipresent in the silhouettes by Indian designer Manish Arora, whose models looked like fortune-tellers. At Margiela, large black handbags in fluffy fur were upended and worn like a wacky version of the Royal Scots Guards bearskins.

Faith Connexion's colourful tribe showed for the first time, wearing either fedoras or military caps. Felt hats were worn over men's fur parkas, or enhanced a punk-romantic feminine look. Baseball caps crowned adolescent looks, worn over a loose tee-shirt, a sweatshirt and an oversize gilet, plus a rug-size scarf.

At Pascal Millet bonnets were ubiquitous, Y/Project featured sweatshirts with hoods laced up tight around the face, and Vanessa Seward chose tubular knitwear balaclavas, for a glam-skier look.