Ms. Yang Mei-chuan conducted a three-day millinery workshop at TNUA in February, showing participants how to make hats using fabrics from old clothing.
The milliner, who now lives in Lyon, France, conducted the workshop from February 2 to 4 at the invitation of the Center for Traditional Arts and the Department of Theatre Design and Technology.
Ms. Yang went to study fashion design in France at the age of 27, and later subsequently focused on millinery.
Her work has been showcased at the Carrousel des Métiers d'Art et de Création and CODE B'Art exhibitions. She has also designed costumes for many theatre productions in Taiwan and France.
The milliner makes all her hats by hand in traditional ways, and her hats are pieces of art coming in various styles, designs and fabrics. She also offers customized services for her customers, many of whom are from countries other than France.
During the workshop, she introduced the present hat-making industry in France and explained the different styles and designs of the hats she has made over the years.
She stressed the most important thing about a hat is that it can fit comfortably on a person's head, and therefore the milliner must make precise measurements of the wearer's head.
The participants of the workshop had to bring in old clothing items whose fabrics were turned into materials for the hats they were going to make under the guidance of Ms. Yang.
Their hats were showcased at an exhibition on February 4, the last day of the workshop.