Portrait of an Artist: Milliner Extraordinaire Marie Galvin Creates Hats that Defy Gravity

Artistic headwear is not exclusively the province of royals. Boston-based Irish milliner Marie Galvin brings a touch of modern glamor to the traditional hatinators, fascinators, and derby hats of yesteryear at her studio in the local SoWa Art and Design District. Whatever Galvin single-handedly makes — from haute couture pieces to more understated berets and cloche hats made of felt and other diaphanous fabrics — are modern and timeless at once, familiar with their vintage shapes yet unlike anything you’ve ever seen before. Her unique hats are beloved by celebrities like Alicia Keys and locals alike. The Harvard Crimson sat down with Galvin to discuss her creative inspirations, her Irish heritage, and the trajectory of her style.

THE HARVARD CRIMSON: When and how did you start making hats?

MARIE GALVIN: I was studying fashion and was disenchanted with the whole process, and then decided that Boston needed a fabulous hat designer, and then from Ireland, I decided I wanted to bring hats back into fashion here that looked like the ones we were wearing over there. So I got a studio, started going there every day, and I basically taught myself. I come from a very artistic family, and it sort of just happened organically. I loved it, and it just started really well, and that was 20 years ago. I’ve been here a lot longer than 20 years, but the business is 20 years [old]. My formative years, I was not concentrating on what I wanted to be when I grow up, too much. Everyone always thinks it’s such a glamorous job, but it’s really hard work. I love creating, and I need to do it every day or I’ll die.

THC: You’ve been based in Boston for 20 years. Are your hats at all influenced by Boston culture or New England styles?

MG: I love the architecture here, and that does influence me. Boston architecture is beautiful. I’m always looking up at buildings here, and the public parks as well — like the [Boston] Commons is gorgeous. There’s a lot of beautiful landscaping.

THC: What is your creative process like? Where do you draw inspiration for each unique hat you make?

MG: Trips to Ireland are really important for me to go and see my family. It’s such a beautiful country that I come from. I have to get there every year, if not once, at least twice, a year. My influences are a lot in nature and architecture — not the places you’d think you’d draw it from, like other hat designers or other fashion designers. I try not to be influenced by any of that. I don’t even look at magazines anymore. So a lot of it is just sometimes out walking with my dog. I’m very in tune with what’s going on around me, naturewise.

THC: What do you hope for the future of your millinery? Is your collection or style evolving in a certain direction?

MG: This is one of the things that’s been always important to me, and that is — I watched other designers get into that rut, where it’s like, they never evolve, so I’ve always wanted to evolve. And I know this maybe sounds conceited, but where I’ve really drawn a lot of inspiration recently in my recent collections is from my past collections, from where I began. Because I began in couture. You see that hat [her self-described “masterpiece,” one of the first hats she made] and I can never, ever be as good as that hat again. That was just a labor of love, and took a long time to craft, and you can see there’s three different looks that it can be worn. I love it — it’s a great silhouette. Everyone covets it.

It seems to be difficult for some people [to evolve], but I’ve been lucky, and I always fear that, and like, what if I wake up one day and I can’t — I’m out of ideas. But that’s the fun thing about making sculptural headwear. I never run out of ideas, and my mind is constantly chaos, but it’s constantly going, and you know what it’s like in these modern times that we live in. Everybody has to be ahead of the curve now — even with media, it’s changing by the minute. So is fashion. So trying to be relevant — that’s what I always try to be: Relevant.

—Staff writer Claire N. Park can be reached at claire.park@thecrimson.com.