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The Conversation: Crowning The Queens

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Turban designer Donia Allegue Walbaum and milliner Rachel Trevor-Morgan donning their designs

Crowning The Queens

BBC World Service - The Conversation, Crowning The Queens

Two women who make dramatic headpieces for very high-profile clients

A milliner from London and a turban-designer in Paris whose clients include Queen Elizabeth and 'Queen Bey'.

Can hats be liberating for women? Nelufar Hedayat brings together a hatmaker to the British Queen and a turban designer to Beyoncé. 

Rachel Trevor-Morgan is a London based milliner who has been making hats for the Queen for over a decade. As well as royalty she also sells to top fashion retailers, and thinks it's a shame that we don’t wear hats as much as we used to. Rachel is not trying to push the boundaries of fashion with her hats - she says her mission is to make her clients look classically feminine and glamorous. 

Donia Allegue Walbaum is a French luxury fashion designer whose turbans have been commissioned by Beyoncé, including for the video for her latest single. She's aiming to reinvent this age-old headpiece in a modern way, and says it's the ultimate accessory. Many of her clients also wear them to cover their heads for religious reasons, or even in the case of illness.

Image: Turban designer Donia Allegue Walbaum and milliner Rachel Trevor-Morgan donning their designs
(L) Donia Allegue Walbaum.  Credit: Laurent Mauger
(R) Rachel Trevor-Morgan.  Credit: Catherine Harbour

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