Traditional millinery and high technology come together in the work of Sally-Ann Provan, one of Scotland’s most exciting contemporary milliners.
“I’ve been drawing, and making things all my life,” Sally-Ann says. “My gran taught me how to sew – and sew well! – at the age of seven. My father is a retired cabinet maker and joiner – so I’ve always been around people making things.”
She remembers her parents constantly mending and fixing things, “giving them a longer life”. In her teenage years this early exposure to hands-on creativity led to the creation of costumes and props for a youth theatre. “I think that’s when I really began to get more involved in making things for other people,” she adds.
A jewellery degree from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design developed very particular skills that have transferred to her millinery, including the use of gold-plated metal pins in one of her favourite creations, Momento Flori (pictured above).
The stunning headpiece – which involved laser cutting a pattern into moulded acrylic panels, before pinning them together – draws on a project on Renaissance society, culture, and perceptions of beauty and was made especially for an exhibition at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery.
“The project gave me that rare thing – time to ‘play’, time to experiment,” Sally-Ann says. “The surface patterns are created from symbolism denoting a woman’s perceived status, wealth and good character within the Renaissance paintings and context that I researched,” while the pinning draws on a technique from the same period for holding clothes together.
The skills to create such a complex piece were developed through training with the Queen Mother’s milliner and at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. Today Sally-Ann balances work creating custom hats for private clients with a role as milliner to Scottish Opera.
“I love the connection I have with my clients, and the processes of hand making,” she adds. “I made a hat last year for Rebecca Peake – astronaut Tim Peake’s wife – for his investiture at Windsor Castle and she is such a warm friendly person to work with.
“I’ve also made two hats for the First Minister and it was really exciting watching to BBC coverage of the service at St Paul’s to celebrate the Queen’s 90th birthday, and seeing Nicola Sturgeon sitting in the cathedral wearing my hat!”
Sally-Ann also develops projects “helping to inspire people to use their creativity” and worked with V&A Dundee on the Bonnetmakers project, which saw primary school pupils in Dundee’s Hilltown drawing on the area’s design heritage – and creating their own hats for a fashion show.
For Sally-Ann it “is particularly enjoyable watching children grow in confidence and experiment with ideas – it really feels like you are making a difference”.
“Creativity is born into all of us and each of us, in a way, designs our own way to live, how we live, and the spaces we live and work in,” she adds.
We are proud to add Sally-Ann to our growing list of V&A Dundee Design Champions, for the exceptional high quality of her designs, her commitment to mixing traditional techniques and the latest technology, and her work inspiring creativity across the country.
To find out more, please visit Sally-Ann’s website.
The V&A Dundee Design Champions are inspirational designers creating high-quality work and helping to enhance people’s lives, or champions of the power of design to improve the world.
We will announce 50 Design Champions in the run-up to the museum opening on Saturday 15 September 2018.
Image credit: Alistair Clark Photography
V&A Dundee’s Design Champions project is working with Dezeen as its media partner.
Dezeen is the world’s most popular and influential architecture and design magazine, with an audience of 2.5 million unique visitors each month.
