Nantong museum launches fund for hat design and craftsmanship

Foremost Hat Museum in Nantong, Jiangsu province, has launched a fund to support original hat design and traditional craftsmanship, seeking to build closer partnerships across the global headwear industry.

Initiated by museum founder Jeffrey Sun, the World Headwear Fund aims to provide sustained support for designers and artists engaged in original creation, craft preservation and international cultural exchange, according to the museum.
The initiative seeks to connect practitioners in a sector long reliant on individual ateliers and regional networks, the museum said.

The fund was unveiled at Hôtel du Louvre during Paris Fashion Week, alongside the launch of 101 Hats and Dao, the Greatest Gift, a new English translation of Laozi's Daodejing.

Featuring work by 72 designers across 20 countries, 101 Hats documents contemporary hat design and regional craft traditions. The volume seeks to fill a gap in cross-border documentation of the craft, bringing together the work of designers from different countries.

Thirteen designers featured in the book attended the event and received collection certificates from the museum, which said it is committed to long-term cooperation with them.

More than 70 guests attended the launch, including milliner Stephen Jones, Elly Stemerdink, editor-in-chief of The Hat Magazine, and Roger Tredre of Central Saint Martins. All three contributed prefaces to 101 Hats.