Jean Barthet (1920–2000) was a French milliner who first rose to prominence in the 1950s as hat maker to Hollywood and French film stars, also designing hats for films such as The Young Girls of Rochefort.
He helped to define fashionable hat styles – including the bucket hat, pillbox hat and fedora – that predominated throughout the 1960s and collaborated with major couture houses.[1] With a career spanning more than 40 years, he remained a favourite hatmaker of Sophia Loren (both for film and personal wear), also creating hats for Michael Jackson's 1988 world tour.[2][3]
Early life and career
Jean Barthet was born in Nay, a village in the Pyrenees region of France in 1920 – although he would later put his date of birth as 1930/1.[4][5][6] After studying at art college in Toulouse, he left for Paris, working for the milliner Gilbert Orcel before setting up his own salon.[4][6]
International reputation
Barthet presented his first collection in 1949 and soon attracted an international clientele – notable among them were many Hollywood stars.[7] He introduced hat styles that attracted newspaper publicity, including a white felt hat inspired by the Texas sheriff's sombrero and a feminine variation on the fedora.[8][9]
Barthet was also a keen photographer and his extensive photo archive includes portraits of musicians, actors and fashion designers – some of whom are captured wearing his hat designs.[18]
