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Milliner Louise Macdonald celebrates her 20-year career
by Ana Elicegui
What a year it's been for milliner Louise Macdonald! After launching another successful fashion collection, she won second runner up with a beautiful entry in the Fashions on the Field competition at the Melbourne Racing Carnival. This year also marks the major milestone of 20 years in her career, and to celebrate the occasion the Stephen McLaughlan Gallery staged a retrospective exhibition in early September.
The gallery is in the historical Nicholas Building, on the same floor as Louise's own studio, with glorious views of Flinders Station, Federation Square and the Royal Botanical Gardens. The timing couldn't have been better, coinciding with Melbourne Spring Fashion Week, in the lead up to the racing season.
The main focus of the event was the 30+ hats on loan from long standing clients, all carefully handmade one-off creations. There were also drawings, picture references, photographs and materials swatches from the theatrical millinery portion of Louise's career, and press cuttings on display. A few hats were accompanied by a photograph of the hat being worn, and a sharp red tall-crowned trilby made of wide vintage straw braid had beside it the sketch made by the dressmaker of the intended outfit and its fabric swatches.
The hats were arranged around the gallery with enough space for each hat or headpiece to be appreciated individually, and for the viewer to see all of its angles. When discussed as a whole body of work, visitors agreed that there is a definite "Louise Macdonald style", with a strong elegant line, exquisite materials and, according to millinery students and fellow professionals who visited the exhibition, a technique that cannot be faulted.
There was a party on the night of the opening, with approximately 50 guests, including clients old and new, proud friends and family members, and staff of the milliner. Guests sipped French champagne and nibbled macarons made locally by La Belle Miette in Louise Macdonald Milliner's colours – burgundy and duck-egg blue. The servers wore delightful headpieces in the shape and colour of these same macaroons, and everyone commented on Louise's cleverness and their likeness.
Later in the evening (after more champagne) pictures were taken of the house model Livia and her sister Marcelle nibbling at these pretend oversized macaroons! Louise made a short but heartfelt speech and people cheered heartily.
The party continued a few doors over in the Louise Macdonald workroom and studio. There, her assistant, Ana, led a gaggle of excited ladies in trying the hats and headpieces in Louise's spring 2011 range, Heroines, and admiring themselves in the mirror.
The milliner herself had a marvellous time, saying happily as she left "I won't sleep tonight!" Congratulations, well done and good luck, Louise! We wish for 20 more!
A career in brief:
- Louise Macdonald's beautiful and individual hats have been in films, TV productions and magazines, and seen on many elegant heads at races in Melbourne and throughout the world.
- Her career took off in England in 1990, with work for period costume company Cosprop. This led to her work appearing in "Howard's End", "Remains of the Day", "Pride and Prejudice" (the Colin Firth one!) and "The House of Elliot", just to name a few.
- On return to Melbourne, Australia, Louise set up her business in the historical Nicholas Building. Located in the heart of the city, it is where the retrospective exhibition took place and where she has happily remained for the last 15 years.
- During this time, her elegant and whimsical designs kept her in high demand, and she also taught millinery at schools and technical colleges, and ran many workshops from her studio, as well as establishing this website, millinery.info.
