David Shilling

David Shilling (born 27 June 1949)[1] is an English milliner and fashion designer.[2] He designs hats and clothing displayed on Ladies' Day at Royal Ascot,[3] and has been called "The Hatman” and "the Mad Hatter.”[4]

David Shilling
Born (1949-06-27) 27 June 1949
London, UK
EducationSt Paul's School, London
Known forThe Hats, David Shilling: A Decade of Design
Parent(s)Gertrude Shilling (deceased, 1999)
Ronald Shilling (deceased, 1988)

Childhood

David Shilling was born in London and attended St Paul's School, London.[5][6] By the age of twelve he was designing hats and outfits for his mother, Gertrude, for her to wear to the Ascot horse races.[7] He designed these for her until she died in 1999.[8] By the age of thirteen he was creating toys to sell at his local shop, and later, scarves and accessories to major British retailers such as Fenwick, Fortnum & Mason, and Liberty.

Career

Shilling opened his first store in Marylebone High Street in 1976: two days after its opening the store received an order from a rock star's wife for twenty four hats.[6]

His first collection was purchased in America by Bloomingdale's; and other stores began selling his creations soon afterwards. In the late 1970s Bergdorf Goodman charged up to $3,000 for a David Shilling hat.

BBC British TV series "Arena" created a film on Shilling titled How to Get Ahead in Fashion (1980).[9]

In 1988, he was invited by the USSR to show his hats during the first Miss USSR Pageant in Moscow, the first live TV broadcast throughout the USSR.[10] In 1990, he headed a successful mission for the United Nations in Ecuador which led to other projects as an art and design ambassador with the UN in Africa and Asia.

Shilling eventually stopped wholesale hat-making and moved to producing only made-to-order garments.

He designed the emblem for Britain's Festival of Arts and Culture in 1994; due to this he became a driving force behind the new "Cool Britannia" re-branding of Britain.[11] His designs for theatre, opera, ballet, film and TV formed an exhibition at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in 1998.[12]

In 2007 he displayed the first of an expected ten collections of hats (each priced at £1,000,000) at Top Marques Monaco.[13] In November 2009 he held his first show in mainland China at the Ritz-Carlton in Beijing. His work encompasses all areas of art, fashion and design, outdoor sculpture, jewellery, men's and ladies' bespoke clothing, accessories, home furnishings, theatre, ballet, opera and interior design.

In 2010, a hat with diamonds created by David in the late 1970s was nominated by the Guinness World Records as the most expensive hat in the world in the 21st century.[11] He previewed a collection of hats designed for men at the Embassy of Monaco, London in 2012. In 2021, he applied to join a ten-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS) in a mixed crew of professional and privately funded astronauts.[14]

Charitable work

Shilling has worked with many charities, including Consortium for Street Children for whom he designed their logo & helped organise their launch at 10 Downing Street, World Horse Welfare and the Darwin Centre, Natural History Museum, London. He is a patron of Action on Addiction and created a millinery course for HM Prison, The Mount.

Personal life

He currently lives in Monaco.[8]

Notable events
  • 2005: a series of 40-foot-tall (12 m) stainless steel and aluminium sculptures collectively called "Hope" were installed atop Primrose Hill in London's Regent's Park as part of "Discover - Positive Elements of Life".
  • 2018: he launched World Yacht Party, a collection of music videos and recordings.

In collections
  1. "Shilling, David | Encyclopedia.com". encyclopedia.com.
  2. Pearson, L. (4 April 2003). "A head for design". The Scotsman. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  3. Freedman, L. (2010). "Vintage hats". BBC Worldwide. Archived from the original on 20 July 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  4. Craig, Duncan. "Rocket man: meet the £40m space tourist". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  5. "Answers - the Most Trusted Place for Answering Life's Questions". Answers.com.
  6. "David Shilling - the world's most exclusive designer".
  7. Anstead, Mark (4 October 2003). "The Ascot hat designer who really got ahead". the Guardian. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  8. Sigee, Rachael (9 June 2014). "'To get ahead, men need an outrageous hat'". Evening Standard. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  9. "Milliner David Shilling". RTÉ Archives. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  10. "David Shilling: Single events and specific projects". Archived from the original on 21 June 2010. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
  11. "David Shilling - from Ascot to Monaco". Archived from the original on 7 January 2010. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
  12. "David Shilling - the world's most exclusive designer".
  13. "David Shilling - from Ascot to Monaco". Archived from the original on 7 January 2010. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
  14. "Rocket man: meet the £40m space tourist". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  15. "Met Museum Collections". www.metmuseum.org. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  16. "Philadelphia Museum of Art - Collections Object : Woman's Hat: The Cocktail Hat". www.philamuseum.org. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  17. "Woman's Cartwheel Hat | LACMA Collections". collections.lacma.org. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  18. Museum, Victoria and Albert. "Hat | David Shilling | V&A Explore The Collections". Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  19. "AUTH9376 Archives". Government Art Collection. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  20. "- David Shilling". Archived from the original on 23 May 2009. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
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