A couple of years ago Tate Liverpool asked Philip Treacy to select artworks which had influenced his own work, which were then displayed alongside a collection of his hat blocks. Treacy has worked with Renzo Re, the Parisian block maker at La Forme, for many years. Treacy uses sparterie (woven willow strips on a gauze base) to create 3D forms which are then reproduced in wood for the finshed block. Some of the white sparterie forms can be seen in the photos below. More details on the Tate exhibition here.
Some of the blocks are instantly recognisable, including a version of the Roswell Hat (above) worn by both Isabella Blow and Grace Jones…
… and the block for the famous plexiglass hat, looking like a giant fortune cookie (above).
All photos ©G.Grindon