Molly Yestadt

Yestadt grew up in New Rochelle, New York,[1] her mother an artist and her father an architect.[2] She studied fine arts at University of Hartford, and eventually transferred to the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, and started focusing in millinery in 2004.[3][4][2] She worked as an apprentice at millinery design studio Cha Cha’s House of Ill Repute from 2004 to 2007, and as a designer for Steve Madden from 2007 to 2009.[5]

In Spring 2009, fashion retailer Intermix started carrying some of Yestadt Millinery's designs.[2][6] Later that same year, a model wore a hat of Yestadt's at a photo shoot with Alister Mackie, then stylist for Marc by Marc Jacobs, and the design caught the stylist's eye.[7] This resulted in a collaboration with Marc by Marc Jacobs that significantly raised Yestadt's profile.[8][5]

Yestadt Millinery has come to be known as the "go-to for cool, artisanal hat-making."[9] Yestadt herself is known for hand-designing with classic techniques and traditional hatmaking styles - bowlers, cloches, panamas, berets, turbans, pork pie hats - with elegant, modern flourishes, and a ready-to-wear aesthetic.[1][8][10][11]

Yestadt has collaborated with designers such as Marc Jacobs,[10] Vena Cava,[9] Thom Browne,[12] and Phillip Lim.[8] Her works with Yestadt Millinery also have a number of celebrity fans, among them Rihanna and Courtney Love.[1] A number of retailers carry or have carried Yestadt's designs, including Intermix, Anthropologie, Henri Bendel, Barney's CO-OP, and The Hat Store.[7][8][13]

While a number of high fashion figures started out as milliners, such as Halston and Coco Chanel, the art of hatmaking has had a comparatively lower profile in the latter half of the 20th century and beginning of the 21st, possibly as a result of the woman's wardrobe becoming more casual and informal.[4] Yestadt is one of a small but growing number of designers championing millinery as an art.[1]

• Yestadt Millinery official website: http://yestadtmillinery.com/