Chapeau at Fortnum's
You may know us best for our Scotch Eggs, bountiful hampers and our, some would argue, obsessive love of tea. But anyone who knows Fortnum's well will know that there are floors upon floors of other wonderful things to discover. And as a business that's been around for over three centuries now, we have a long and storied history.
For example, did you know that millinery has played an big part in the story of Fortnum's? When our store expanded in the 1920s, millinery quickly became one of our earliest and most fashionable successes. Over the following decades through the 1950s, 60s and 70s, Fortnum’s has collaborated with legendary names such as Lanvin, Otto Lucas, Philip Sommerville, and David Shilling, making the store a go-to destination for stylish, couture headwear heritage in the world of millinery. We even had our very own in-house milliner in the 2010s!
So to celebrate that heritage, we've collaborated with Chapeau! London, who are a unique retail experience dedicated to showcasing Britain’s finest millinery and making exclusive, high-quality designs accessible through prominent showcase locations. To mark our enduring relationship with the art of headwear, we'll have our own showcase at our Piccadilly home, spotlighting designs by some of Britain’s most sought-after milliners: Jenny Roberts, Lisa Tan, Martha Lynn, Sarah Cant, Stephen Jones and Victoria Grant.
Whether you’re the mother of the bride, or preparing for Royal Ascot, the pop-up offers an exquisite range of hats for every occasion - and throughout the season, the designers themselves will also be making appearances in-store, offering expert styling tips and insights into their creative processes!
Jenny Roberts Millinery
With over 20 years of experience in fashion styling and millinery, Jenny blends artistry with the latest trends to create headwear that enhances and flatters her clients. Based in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, she offers bespoke design services, and a curated hat hire collection.
Jenny’s designs have been featured on the front pages of The Times, The Telegraph, and Vogue’s Top Ascot Hats, as well as in Marie Claire and more. Recognized by Tatler as “The Best Milliner in Yorkshire,” her work is sought after by distinguished clients, TV presenters, and royalty attending prestigious events like Royal Ascot.
Beyond designing, Jenny is passionate about sharing her expertise. She has taught at London Hat Week, The British Millinery Association, and The American Institute of Millinery. As a dedicated member of the millinery community, she serves on the Events Committee for The British Hat Guild and is honoured to be an Ambassador for the British Millinery Association.
Martha Lynn
Martha Lynn is a distinguished Irish milliner, celebrated for her innovative and boundary- pushing approach to hat design. Seamlessly blending traditional craftsmanship with modern aesthetics, she is known for incorporating unconventional and experimental materials, redefining the art of millinery.
Martha honed her skills through prestigious internships with legendary milliners Philip Treacy and Stephen Jones in London. There, she contributed to designs for world-renowned fashion houses such as Valentino and Galliano, as well as custom pieces for Lady Gaga. Armed with this wealth of experience, she launched her own millinery studio in Dublin, swiftly earning international recognition for her bold, distinctive aesthetic.
Now based in London, Martha continues to create bespoke and ready-to-wear hats for special occasions, race days, and high-profile events. Her designs, known for their modern edge and impeccable craftsmanship, attract a global clientele seeking statement headpieces. She has collaborated with leading luxury retailers, including Harvey Nichols, Brown Thomas, and Selfridges, hosting exclusive in-store pop-ups. In 2024, she co-founded Chapeau!, a millinery pop-up collaboration with The Grosvenor Estate on Mount Street, Mayfair.
Martha’s work has been featured in top-tier publications such as The New York Times, Vogue Italia, and The Financial Times. Her signature designs are regularly seen on television personalities and fashion icons at race meetings and events worldwide. With an unwavering commitment to creativity and craftsmanship, Martha Lynn continues to shape the future of millinery, redefining what it means to wear a hat with confidence and style.
Lisa Tan
London-based Lisa Tan creates elegant, sculptural designs using traditional millinery techniques and materials. Her signature style fuses classic elements with a modern edge to produce distinctive silhouettes with a less-is-more aesthetic.
With a penchant for natural fibres and a fondness for straw, Lisa particularly enjoys working with sinamay, and especially on the bias. Her fascination with bias work began whilst studying fashion design, where she frequently experimented with bias cutting and learned how to manipulate various fabrics. Over many years of practice, Lisa has adapted and honed these skills for straw to create her signature sinamay techniques.
A long-time supporter of horseracing, racing millinery is Lisa’s specialty and her unique knowledge of racewear is sought-after in the UK, US and Australia by clients, stylists, and media alike. Her hats are frequently worn at the most prestigious meetings on the racing calendar, and she has been a regular contributor of racing fashion commentary for Channel 4, ITV, World Horse Racing, and the Nick Luck Daily podcast.
In 2017, 2022, and 2025, Lisa was chosen to be a part of the official Royal Ascot Millinery Collective, which celebrates the best of international millinery.
Sarah Cant
Sarah Cant is a couture milliner devoted to making hats and headpieces from the finest materials, with an immaculate finish. Her dynamic shapes are the result of combining tradition with innovation. The style is classic and quirky, with an emphasis on strong, elegant shapes which flatter the face.
Originally from California, Sarah trained in millinery at Kensington and Chelsea College. After her training, she worked for Stephen Jones before establishing her own label in 2003. Sarah’s hats are worn by stylish race goers, wedding guests, and members of the royal family. She produces seasonal collections of occasion hats and headpieces and takes bespoke orders. Her works feature regularly in the Royal Ascot Style Guide and Royal Ascot Millinery Collective.
In 2010, Sarah published Hats! Making Classic Hats and Headpieces in Fabric, Felt and Straw. The book has been published in the UK, USA, France, and Spain, and is widely used as a teaching tool for millinery courses. Sarah has 18 years’ experience of teaching millinery, from beginner to advanced levels. She is currently the lead tutor on the newly established The Chanel & The Kings Foundation Métiers d’Art Millinery Fellowship, and for many years was the course director on the world-renowned HNC in Millinery at Kensington & Chelsea College (now part of Morley College). She also offers private tuition in her Warwickshire studio.
Victoria Grant
Established in 2011, Victoria Grant is hailed for being a key contributor to the enduring popularity of the British Millinery scene. Victoria is committed to upholding a time-honoured tradition within a contemporary context through collaborating with numerous cultural icons from the worlds of music, art and fashion.
Having gained inspiration from a very young age by visiting the Honourable Artillery Company with her father, who is now a Pikeman with the Pikeman & Musketeers, Victoria’s passion for British Heritage and culture is clearly evident in her design and aesthetic. Known for her eccentric take on millinery and her ability to celebrate her clients’ distinctiveness as her hats carry the kind of recognition that are both arresting and awe-inspiring. Fusing her interests in Couture & British heritage, Victoria creates exquisite creations that are timeless, elegant, and sophisticated.
Victoria Grant’s exclusive clients include Madonna, Anna Dello Russo, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Beyonce and Cara Delevingne to name a few, and her works are regularly featured with Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and the world’s leading editorials.
She had always been inspired by military hats and ceremonial dress collected by her father along his travels, so she decided to start making her own pieces for shoots. Victoria’s first pieces sold immediately, and she quickly became inundated with bespoke offers. Victoria believes that hats ought to be worn, even without occasion, and advocates that every woman should embrace them as though they would be an everyday statement accessory. Victoria creates bespoke and bridal headwear for stylish and sophisticated women all over the world, who visit the Notting Hill Showroom to have bespoke pieces created for parties, weddings, red-carpet events, horseraces, and other high society events throughout the year.
Stephen Jones, OBE
Born in Cheshire, and schooled in Liverpool, Stephen Jones burst on to the London fashion scene during its explosion of street style in the late seventies. By day, he was a student at St Martins; after dark he was one of that era's uncompromising style-blazers at the legendary Blitz nightclub - always crowned with a striking hat of his own idiosyncratic design.
By 1980, Jones had opened his first millinery salon in the heart of London's Covent Garden. Those premises soon became a place of pilgrimage and patronage, as everyone from rock stars to royalty, from Boy George to Diana, Princess of Wales, identified Jones as the milliner who would help them make arresting headlines. Forty years later, Jones's era-defining edge continues to attract a celebrity clientele which includes, Rihanna, Mick Jagger, and the Princesses.
Now, as ever, at the forefront of fashion, his beguiling hats routinely grace the most celebrated magazine covers and enliven window displays of the world's most stylish stores. From runways to racecourses, from pop-promos to royal garden parties, millinery by Stephen Jones adds the exclamation mark to every fashion statement.
Inspiration
Discover The Journal, home to a host of our most delicious stories.
The Story of Otto Lucas
The History of Fashion at Fortnum's