Philip Treacy

Philip Treacy biography

Born: Ahascragh, Ireland, 1966

Born in the West of Ireland, Phillip Treacy moved to Dublin to study fashion at the National College of Art and Design in 1985. Whilst studying, Treacy started to make hats as hobby. When required to find work experience as part of his course, Treacy secured a six week placement at London based hat designer Stephen Jones.

After graduating, Treacy enrolled at the Royal College of Art in London in 1988 where he joined the College’s first ever millinery course.

In 1989 Treacy approached Michael Roberts, the then fashion editor of Tatler magazine and his style editor, Isabella Blow. Blow was immediately impressed with Treacy’s designs, and asked him to design a hat for her wedding. Blow became Treacy’s patron and he began designing from the basement of her house in London.

Treacy started designing hats for Chanel in 1991. The first hat he designed featured a twisted birdcage. The design was photographed by Patrick Demarchelier and worn by Linda Evangelista on the cover of British Vogue.

1991 also saw Treacy named British Accessory Designer of the Year by the British Fashion Council. He received the same award the following year.

Treacy debuted his first fashion show at London Fashion Week in 1993. The collection featured all black hats and the supermodels of the decade – Naomi Campbell, Yasmin Le Bon, Kate Moss, Christy Turlington and Stella Tennant all modelled for Treacy for free in return for free hats.

Treacy opened his first shop in London in 1994 and in 2000 became the first ever accessory designer to be invited by the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture to present a haute couture show in Paris dedicated exclusively to hats.

In 2004 Treacy won the Chinese International Designer of the Year Award and the following year completed his first interior design project at The G, a five-star hotel in Galway, Ireland.  In 2007, for his contribution to the fashion industry, Treacy was awarded an OBE.

Industry leaders, including Isabella Blow and Franca Sozzani, have backed Treacy. His glamorous and creative hat designs have re-defined millinery with unconventional head wear. Treacy himself has commented that he is ‘constantly challenging the perception of what a hat should be and what role it should play’ and that ‘hats are no longer symbols of conformity but highly individual acts of rebellion.’

Philip Treacy biography