A cure for the Boring Outfit

There is something wonderfully unserious about a really good hat.

And Christian Silvani seems to understand exactly that. The emerging accessory designer, @christian_silvani, is making hats that are strange enough to completely change an outfit, but casual enough that you can actually imagine wearing them on a random Tuesday. That distinction makes his work particularly refreshing.

We've seen plenty of conceptual headwear that looks incredible in an editorial and completely ridiculous once you imagine leaving the studio. Silvani's hats occupy a much more interesting space. Their shapes can be unusual. Their proportions can be exaggerated. The colours can be loud, unexpected or slightly uncomfortable in the best possible way.
Yet somehow, they remain wearable.

A huge hat can sit on top of an otherwise completely normal outfit and suddenly make the whole thing feel intentional. A strange colour combination can become the one detail that pulls a basic look out of anonymity. Something that might look almost absurd on its own starts making perfect sense once it is worn by an actual person.
That is where Silvani's work gets interesting. He plays heavily with scale. Some of his designs feel deliberately oversized, taking the familiar idea of a hat and stretching it into something much more noticeable. Others feel compact or oddly proportioned, almost as if the traditional shape has been squeezed, inflated or shifted slightly out of place

He plays heavily with scale. Some of his designs feel deliberately oversized, taking the familiar idea of a hat and stretching it into something much more noticeable. Others feel compact or oddly proportioned, almost as if the traditional shape has been squeezed, inflated or shifted slightly out of place.
The proportions aren't always "safe." Neither are the colours. And thank God. There is a tendency for everyday accessories to become extremely conservative. Black. Brown. Beige. Maybe a little navy if we're feeling adventurous. Colours chosen because they are easy to match rather than because they make anything particularly interesting. Silvani seems much more interested in what happens when you make the accessory the slightly weird part of the outfit.
A colour that shouldn't necessarily work suddenly does. A bright shade becomes surprisingly charming against an otherwise muted look.
Two colours that would usually be kept apart start creating an entirely new character

We don't always need fashion to transform us completely. Sometimes we just need something that interrupts the uniformity of getting dressed every day.