To paraphrase Aoife Harrison, if you can’t give a hug, get a hat. Before the pandemic, the Dublin-based milliner says that one element that had to be factored in when she was making headpieces for the wedding market was that larger pieces restricted their wearers’ ability to embrace other people. Now that hugging is sadly not encouraged, however, we can feel free to give over more of our personal space to a hat.

hile circumferences may be increasing, Harrison says that her customers are toning down the drama. “The style of hat people are looking for now is very different. When there were 300 people going to a wedding, they wanted to impress the neighbours and everybody there, and they’d go for something very extravagant.

“And now that it’s 25 or 50 guests, they want something simple and more in keeping with the wedding. People aren’t overcomplicating their outfit or their look.

Co-ordination is still a priority, however, and Harrison has been making face masks to match her clients’ outfits.

With a business rooted in occasion-wear largely paused during last year’s lockdowns, Harrison used the time to complete already-in-progress projects, and to experiment with different techniques to make her latest collection, featured in today’s photoshoot. “Sometimes you don’t get the time to play with stuff, so it gave a bit of focus in the studio to finally get to those ‘I must try that’ things.

Particularly enjoyable was finding new ways to play with feathers, with which the milliner has an enduring fascination. “I keep hens, and they’re so fluffy and have beautiful markings, so they’re my inspiration for all the feathers.

Design can be lonely work, and Harrison praises the Council of Irish Fashion Designers (CIFD) for encouraging its members to “buddy up” and collaborate on projects during the pandemic. It’s through the CIFD that she came to work with Charlotte Lucas and Caterina Coyne, whose clothing also features in today’s shoot.

Now, Harrison is delighted to have clients returning to her studio. “That’s definitely the favourite bit for me, just having the chats and seeing their lovely outfits and getting the look right for them as a whole. You just get a nice, happy buzz.

Harrison’s next project is a contemporary bridal collection, which was born out of experimenting with designs for her own wedding, which is coming up soon.

“The pressure is on, everyone’s saying, ‘Sure you’ll have an amazing headpiece’ and I’m like, ‘I don’t know!’” she says, laughing. No doubt she’ll take her own advice for creating a showstopping hat  go big, or go home.