The PVC Beret

Dip moulded plastic beret. One of a series starting from Jelly Beret 1997.This was made with a UK with the design company Inflate. This 2009 iteration of the PVC beret chosen for Stephen Jones Hat Anthology V&A, the first millinery exhibition of millinery design held at V&A. Whereas traditional millinery is known for its rather staid and bourgeois Stephen Jones selected chose this hat for its edgy sub cultural capital.This is reflected in the choices of materials and beret style with a reference to the Bohemien Parisienne avant garde revisited in 1960s London and made new for 21st century NY "Jelly Beret" the very first prototype of a plastic millinery Reviewed in Vogue UK, this travelling exhibition went from London, New York, Sydney to add exists at the V&A as a touring show. An accompanying catalogue by Oriole Cullen and Stephen Jones discusses the significance of innovative and original millinery design international design culture today.

House of Flora (illustrations)

McLean builds strong connections between the cultural capital of the Jerwood prizewinning craft maker and the world of business and trade. It is crucial that higher education research can consider its relationship to the creative industries. London is a fashion capital, known for its style experimentation and playful creativity. The wit and anarchic play of the art school is a leading force in fashion innovation and Mclean's work articulates this clearly. Designing hats that reference the stylised coiffures of Hollywood icons, in the soft medium of felted wool, is a sophisticated play on the relations between nature and culture that, according to Levi Straus, are at the heart of all culture. The Fifty Hats that Changed the World makes direct allusion to the way that fashion is often regarded with mild disdain as insignificant or trivial, and the Design Museum London, an international leader in disseminating design discourse has, recently, included fashion design within its agenda for exhibition. McLean's work is a leading component of this transformation of design culture.

PVC Beret as part of Hats: An Anthology exhibition

Dip moulded plastic PVC beret. One of series starting from Jelly Beret 1997. This was made with the design company Inflate. This 2009 iteration of the PVC beret chosen for Stephen Jones Hat Anthology V&A, the first millinery exhibition of millinery design held at V&A. Whereas traditional millinery is known for its rather staid and bourgoise Stephen Jones selected chose this hat for its edgy sub cultural capital. This is reflected in the choices of materials and beret style with a reference to the Bohemien Parisienne avant garde revisited in 1960s London and made new for 21st century NY. "Jelly Beret" the very first prototype of a plastic millinery, reviewed in Elle 2000. This travelling exhibition went from London, New York, Sydney and exists at the V&A as a touring show. An accompanying catalogue by Oriole Cullen and Stephen Jones discusses the significance of innovative and original millinery design international design culture today.. " “House of Flora is noted for its sculptural and architecturally inspired hats made from technologically innovative materials such as latex,PVC and Perspex” Oriole Cullen