The Secret Life of Straw Hats
While fashion and creativity may always go hand in hand, at times, fashion identified with place may conjure usual specialties, brands, or techniques. Florence and its renowned leather industry, for example, often overshadows the city’s longstanding relationship with straw accessories. Here we examine a lesser known material and a milliner from southern Italy who has set up his laboratory in Florence, to share how diverse experiences and stories can expand one’s perception and interaction with fashion in the city.
The urge to splurge on leather is a common impulse when in Tuscany and especially in Florence, whose cityscape is dotted with leather stores left and right. Yet the regions has been the hallmark for many creative and innovative artisanal craftsmen with diverse specialties. Craftsmanship is part of the historical roots here, which can be seen through the fine examples of Etruscan jewelry that predate Roman dominion. The city of Florence has been and still is the home of many artisans from silversmiths to tailors and dressmakers and to the very interesting and enchanting hat makers. The word milliner, which is a person that makes, trims, designs, or sells hats, originated in northern Italy, in regions that were famous for producing ribbons, gloves, and straw.
Straw hats started in Signa, a town just outside of Florence, in 1714 when a farmer, Domenico Michelacci, began to produce a variety of wheat that would be able to provide high quality and strong straw for weaving. A third of the Tuscan region started to produce this type of wheat, and the city of Florence became the first manufacturer of quality straw hats in Western Europe. The straw hats became very fashionable for the wealthy elite of Italy.
Along the way, hats became a fashion statement. They became an accessory that enhanced the fashion industry. New designs for hats started emerging from the shadows and soon everyone started to wear them. But, there is a big difference between being a milliner and being just a hat maker or hat seller. Since the city of Florence has kept the tradition, many people diced to enter the world of hat making, but not just anyone could take up the job like Antonio Gatto.
As you wander around the historic neighborhood of Palazzo Pitti, you will find a narrow little show called Cappelli Antonio Gatto. Here, Antonio puts his magic to work in every single, unique, hat he makes. What is most interesting is that he does not only make the hats, but he also invents and creates every little thing that goes into the making of the molds he uses to iron the hats into shapes. All those materials are invented in his own creative mind, and made by his artistic hands.
Antonio was born in Calabria, where he later taught himelf the art of tailoring before moving to Florence to pursue a career. When he got to Florence, he was asked to work as a hat designer for theater. He fell in love with hair, fashion, and most of all hats, so he decided to open his own hat shop. Even though Antonio keeps this tradition, he does not make traditional hats. Browsing around the shop you can see that every single has is different. He says that making the hats isn’t difficult; he can usually finish one in less than an hour. He also says that he feels so fortunate to be able to work at something that he is so passionate about.
It is inspiring to see how people take advantage of living in a country and city with so much history and culture. Handcrafters, such as Antonio Gatto, are passionate about keeping tradition of ancient times and modernizing them to fit modern times. The elegance and precision of their work through time has maintained the aspect of art. Their dedication and passion for tradition is what makes it so enchanting and it is what makes people fall in love with their work.
