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If the world’s a stage, then surely we should all look our best and top off a meticulously planned outfit with a hat? I’m not usually one prone to sartorial advice, but I’d very much recommend embracing upper class etiquette and revelling in a hat. I’m not talking about wide brimmed floppy hats, or despicable fluffy fascinators (although a straw boater is always acceptable)…but real creations, that can change, disguise and even disfigure the wearer.

Despite having only designed three collections (with the fourth to be unveiled at LFW next week) Piers Atkinson is most certainly worthy of your consideration. Take his second collection (for SS09) for example. Entitled ‘All the world’s a Stage’, Atkinson creates a modern day fairytale where all is not quite as it seems. Elaborate designs, featuring pom-poms galore, stuffed bears from our oldest childhood memories, fake flowers, rollers, glitter eyeshadow and netting, hint at sinister characters, arch villains and evil cartoon mice. These are not hats for the fainthearted…think carefully about how you want the world to perceive you.

On the surface ‘The Frog and the Princess’ (AW09) is a lighter affair, with balletic Barbies’ who recall Matisse’s ‘The Dance’, fake blonde hair extensions, lily pads and oversized florals. But take a closer look, and you’ll soon discover that the decapitated blonde princess- which combine elements of Dolly, Jerry, Pammie and Xtina- are not fantastically plastic or sweetly angelic, but exuberant, raw and sexualised. Whatever would Ken say?

Atkinson has worn almost as many hats as he has made- from artist to illustrator, to fashion editor and party organiser- his creativity knows no boundaries. Since assisting fashion designer extraordinaire Zandra Rhodes in 1999, Atkinson has gone on to collaborate with numerous, equally colourful characters, including Noki and Ashish. His SS10 collection, ‘Sex on the Brain’, is unlikely to disappoint.

So if you want to get ahead…get a hat.

Vicki Loomes