How did you get into hat-making?

I did an MA in Costume Design for Performance at the London College of Fashion and my millinery was some of my most successful pieces.

When I graduated I became the first assistant to the milliner/wigmaker Charlie Le Mindu for two seasons. It was an unpaid internship, so although it was a very beneficial time and I got a lot out of the experience, it wasn’t great for the bank balance.

So I started making hats. My first commission was for an artist called Ebony Bones. I’m a very good engineer – I’m interested in building the structures underneath and pattern cutting.

Do you see design for stage and performance as different to fashion design?

They go hand in hand. When I did my training all my experience came from fashion; from watching people like McQueen, Galliano, Gaultier, Hussein Chalayan, Viktor and Rolf. I know people say the catwalk is theatre, but I think it does have to be about staging and drama.

One of my favourite costume designers is Eiko Ishioka. She’s very famous for doing Bram Stoker’s Dracula and The Fall but she also does her own catwalk collections as well. I see one running into the other.

What would you consider your big break?

It’s probably come in stages. I worked as a waitress in Hull for about eight years, on and off. I thought, with Hull not being the greatest cultural centre, that that was it for me.

Then I got one of my big breaks completely by chance – I’d gone to the London College of Fashion to meet my friend for lunch but she was late. Because I’m always making and drawing – I’m an illustrator too – I was drawing in my sketchbook while I waited. One of the tutors saw it and within a week they’d offered me a full scholarship.

Is it true that Lady Gaga has bought some of your hats?

She found out through a friend about my millinery and requested that I sent some pieces over a couple of months ago. I sent three pieces, which she bought, and she’s now commissioning me to make more headwear.

Those first three will probably go into her archive, but the others I’ve done might be used as part of her stage tour later in the year. I’ve got my fingers crossed – every time I see her I’m looking to see if she’s wearing them!

It’s just nice to know that she heard my name. It seems that, in fashion, you get a couple of really good commissions and then things just snowball from there. Your work and your name becomes a trend in itself.

Where do you work? Do you have a studio?

I live in a very small ex-council maisonette in Hackney. I have two extremely understanding housemates who occasionally let me do my commissions in the kitchen. Otherwise I do them in my bedroom. At the moment I’ve got a metre-by-one-metre hat in the corner of my room that is dominating the entire space.

I did a collaboration with Belle Sauvage last fashion week and I had lots of people helping me do the construction in our tiny kitchen. It’s so small we had people out on the balcony. 

Otherwise it’s just me, in my bedroom.

Photography by Alexsi Niemela Styling by Masha Mombelli Makeup by Phillippe Tholimet and Hair by Magumi Matsuno.

Follow Lara Jensen on Twitter.