The Milliner from Tim Fok on Vimeo.
Before setting up her millinery business, Awon was a fashion stylist for a magazine in Hong Kong. When she couldn’t find a hat to wear for a family wedding, she made one herself. Three years later, she did a millinery course at Kensington and Chelsea College. Her first collection, launched in 2014, was snapped up by Liberty and she went onto design hats and soft accessories for high street giants Topshop and River Island. She later set up her own label and has since won several awards. In 2018, she made her UK TV debut as the Millinery expert on BBC 2’s show Handmade in Britain. Her hats are available at London’s Fenwick as well as via her own site.
Here, Awon tells us what she gets up to online.
My favourite website… Vogue.com - The best site for catwalk pictures of the latest collections. It’s an amazing source of inspiration for ideas and to keep tabs on upcoming trends.
My favourite app… iMotion - Super useful for making my little stop-motion videos which show my hats in 360 degrees. It’s a great way of showcasing my work.
My internet hero… Mona Chalabi - An amazing statistician who puts together really cool infographics. She mixes humour with hard hitting statistics.
My favourite podcasts… Ear Hustle, Criminal, My Favorite Murder, This American Life, Serial, The Moth, Reply All - This list goes on. I have so many favourite podcasts. I listen to podcasts throughout the day as I work and sew.
My most recent buy online... A dress from Warehouse for Royal Ascot - I tend to do most of my clothes shopping online these days because I don’t have time to actually go to shops.
Book just downloaded/ read… I just finished the Beastie Boys Book by Micahel Diamond which I received for Christmas. I was a massive Beasties fan in the 90s and saw them play in 1998 on their Hello Nasty tour. It was an amazing gig with the Jungle Brothers supporting.
Favourite tweeter… I don’t really use twitter.
Favourite instagrammer… @farmanimalrefuge- This is my current favourite IG account. I tend to cycle through different animal rescue accounts. They never fail to make me happy, which is something I definitely need in this day and age of constant depressing news.
Social media allowed me to meet… I’d been following Sophie Gamand for a while. She is the creator behind Pitbull Flower Power, an amazing photographic project where Sophie puts floral garlands on pit bulls that are up for adoption in the States. It’s helped to change the unfortunate stigma about pit bulls and bull breeds in general. I slid into her DMs when I was putting together my own rescue dog calendar, Haute Dogs, last year.
My pet hate online… Topless or scantily clad photos paired with self-care comments #blessed.
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July 2019