Cool heads will prevail: Priscilla Royer on the glorious return of the hat

Priscilla Royer has been at the creative helm of historic Paris hatmaker Maison Michel for more than a decade. She’s constantly refreshing and refining signature silhouettes such as the Kiki boater or the Virginie fedora but also makes a point of introducing bold new designs that mirror the zeitgeist. She answered fashion’s turn towards streetwear with elegant versions of the bucket hat crafted in glossy leather and expanded the Maison Michel universe to all types of headwear, including foldable straw fedoras that are rooted in practicality and charming coquetteries such as barrettes and turbans.

Having studied fashion at Studio Berçot in Paris and worked for the scene’s favourite rebel, Vivienne Westwood, in London, Royer is always thinking differently about the industry and is acutely aware of how hats are worn across cultures: a means of self-expression for some, social decorum for others – or simply as a shield from the sun. She aims to offer something for everyone.

Sitting in her light-filled office in le19m (Maison Michel was acquired by Chanel in 1997 and its ateliers are now part of the company’s Métiers d’Art hub), Royer looks fresh and upbeat. She’s wearing a loose black sweater by Chanel and colourful DIY bracelets made by her daughter. It’s the morning after the Chanel spring/summer 2027 presentation and the entire team, which produces hats for Chanel, is still buzzing. In the past year, Royer has worked alongside Chanel’s artistic director, Matthieu Blazy, to design everything from playful swim bonnets to a bold headband shaped like a tiger’s head. The latter was crafted by hand on a custom wooden mould in the brand’s new woodcarving workshop.

As Maison Michel toasts its 90th birthday, Royer gives us a tour of the workshops and tells us why now is the time to dress up and have fun with hats again.

How important has it been to bring all of your workshops in-house?
It made everything better. We can now say that we have mastered the genesis of a hat, including woodcarving and creating new shapes from custom wooden moulds. For the past 40 years, Maison Michel worked with an external artisan woodcarver who, before he retired, agreed to train two of our hatmakers. It was something very sensitive for the house. We could have lost that expertise when the woodcarver retired. But now at le19m, the transmission is pretty much done. We had a few people who retired and the younger generation is already taking over. I can smell it already – there’s a new, modern way of thinking about craft throughout the building.

How have you used the archives and proximity to the artisans when designing collections?
The maison used to acquire archives from all the milliners that were closing down, as well as from theatre troupes and film sets. So we have a huge library of crowns and brims. It gives us so many possibilities to research and create new combinations. I usually have a certain image in my head or a feeling, then the hatmakers help me find the right mould from our library. I can always lean on the atelier – they will always tell me what’s technically viable. The rest is creativity and making sure that you’re always pushing the boundaries.

Are artisanal skills becoming even more valuable in our current age of technology?
The handmade touch is non-negotiable for us. No AI or industrial tool can make hats this way, so there’s no threat to us. We’re quite spoiled, working in this bubble that sits above the current debates around technology. Some machines date back to the 20th century here and the techniques that we use haven’t changed since then.

Production methods might not have changed but the ways in which we get dressed have. Have you had to rethink hat design since joining the brand?
The house was like this beautiful pearl in my hand: I just had to polish it a little bit and present hats in a more modern way. My goal is to show people that you can wear a hat, even though it’s 2026 and you’re not obliged to wear one to go out of your house. You can use them to express your style and personality, plus there are practical uses. I want to meet people halfway between style and functionality. That’s why I’m always moving between smaller statement pieces and very functional designs that have UV protection or can roll in your suitcase.

How are people wearing hats today?
We’re returning to the concept of dressing up and having different hats for different occasions: you might wear your beanie to go out to the market on a Sunday but you will have a special straw hat for your holiday. It goes beyond choosing an outfit – what you put on your head is a bold move because it’s so much more visible. It requires a lot of confidence, so I always recommend trying as many hats as possible to find the right one. It usually happens the moment that you stop laughing at yourself in the mirror and realise that you actually feel good. There are no rules. You shouldn’t be choosing hats according to your face shape or hair style. It’s a question of style, personality and identity.

You also design hats for Chanel. What has it been like to experience the house’s latest chapter under Matthieu Blazy?
There’s a huge shift in terms of creativity and experimentation. We’re more stimulated and there’s more synergy between the workshops. Things feel even more possible, whether it’s embroidery on a hat or some feathers on a beanie. The tiger fascinator that we designed for Chanel’s Métiers d’Art show in New York was special because it’s also very close to Maison Michel’s own DNA to play with ears, animals and this idea of disguise.

Tell us about the exhibition currently on show in Paris to celebrate the house’s 90th anniversary.
The exhibition very intentionally starts from the forest, where you can see the woodcarving process. It’s important to talk about the birth of a hat from a technical perspective but also to make the public rediscover the joy of wearing hats. If you think about it, they’re all around us: caps, beanies, hair clips, helmets worn by bikers or construction workers. It’s all headwear. They used to be a bigger part of our daily routines before conventions started to collapse and we moved from couture to ready-to-wear. But now feels like a moment to embrace hats again and just have fun.

The exhibition ‘Metamorphoses: Hats by Maison Michel’ is on show at La Galerie du 19M in Paris until 13 December.
michel-paris.com; le19m.com