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May 2012: William will be attending the Royal Ascot launch brunch, where he will meet members of the British Fashion Council Trust, alongside the other Headonism milliners.

April 2012: William Chambers Millinery has been nominated as Accessory Designer of the Year at the Scottish Fashion Awards for the fifth year running. Read all about it here: http://www.scottishfashionawards.com/home.php

April 9-12 2012: William Chambers Millinery will be in New York City as part of Scotland Re:Designed, a showcase of Scottish fashion and textile design talent. Full details can be found on the Scotland Re:Designed website.

Jan 2012: William has been asked by Stephen Jones to exhibit his AW12 collection at 'Headonism' at London Fashion Week. This highly prestigious event is hosted by the British Fashion Council at Somerset House from 16-21 Feb 2012. Read all about it here and read a great interview with Stephen Jones talking about William here.

Until 11th May 2012: William has his Crystal Cocktail Explosion headpiece on show at the Finishing Touch exhibition at Hat Works in Stockport. More info here.

Dec 2011: William Chambers Millinery appears in VOGUE'S SECRET ADDRESS BOOK: http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2011/11/30/vogue-secret-address-book---december-issue

Nov 2011: William created hats and headpieces for the CRUISE 20th Anniversary Catwalk Show at the Scottish Style Awards at Kelvingrove Museum & Art Gallery: see the photos on Facebook here.

May 2011: William Chambers Millinery appears as one of Stylist magazine's 100 Addresses Stylist Wants You To Know - read the full list here: http://read.stylist.co.uk/issue/May09-2011

April 2011: William Chambers Millinery has been nominated, for the fourth year running, as Accessory Designer of the Year at the Scottish Fashion Awards www.scottishfashionawards.com . Read the full story here on Vogue.com

Fri 22nd April 2011: William will premiere his new collection at NIGHTWALK SS2011 at the Arches, Glasgow. The models outfits will be styled by Jonathan Pryce of Les Garcons De Glasgow www.lesgarconsdeglasgow.com . All proceeds go to St Margaret's Hospice - tickets and more information at http://www.thearches.co.uk/events/clubs/nightwalk-ss2011

April 2011: WCM has moved into much larger 300sq ft premises at the same address on West regent St, Glasgow. William is delighted with his new larger studio which will enable hime to offer customers a first class consultation experience.

March 2011: William collaborated with Vivienne Westwood Glasgow and Scottish Ballet providing headpieces for the window display in Princes Square.

Dec 2010: There is now a William Chambers Youtube channel - view the collections as well as a video of his latest photoshoot - watch those hats move.

14th Oct 2010: William Chambers Millinery exhibited alongside nine other Scottish designers and forty Scottish textile businesses in the Scotland Rediscovered - Textiles Scotland showcase at the ICA, London. Pics here.

4th Oct 2010: International pop star Kelis wore a silver pheasant feather headpiece created by William on stage at O2 ABC, Glasgow. In a double coup for Scottish design, Kelis was also wearing a body suit by Edinburgh based design duo Bebaroque. See pics here.

20th June 2010: William WON Accessory Designer of the Year at the Scottish Fashion Awards ! www.scottishfashionawards.com He said of his win:

“I am so thrilled to have won the award this year, particularly when up against such strong nominees such as Bebaroque. It’s been a fantastic year for me – in the past week alone I’ve had BBC Royal Ascot presenter Suzi Perry and Scissor Sister Ana Matronic wearing my hats – so this is a wonderful way to celebrate it! The Scottish Fashion Awards mean a lot to me, as a designer who has chosen to stay in Scotland, yet is having success across the UK and further afield. I think last night’s awards ceremony was the best yet and I was delighted to meet so many inspiring and talented people."

June 2010: Scissor Sister Ana Matronic loved the copper and Swarovski crystal headpiece William created for her when she visited Glasgow this week for the band's show at Barrowlands. See a pic on the clients page.

June 2010: It's the first day of Royal Ascot and BBC presenter Suzi Perry wore a beautiful William Chambers hat all day while presenting the coverage. See pics on the Daily Mail and Telegraph websites here. William has a total of eight designs being worn at this year's race meeting.

May 2010: William has been nominated as Accessory Designer of the Year in the Scottish Fashion Awards for the third year running. www.scottishfashionawards.com

April 2010: Several William Chambers hats and headpieces were showcased at NYC Tartan Week event Dressed To Kilt - look out for rock legend Joan Jett in one of his outrageous feather headpieces in this catwalk clip

March 2010: William has been invited to create hats and headpieces for the Dressed To Kilt Fashion Show hosted by Sir Sean Connery in New York City on April 5th 2010.

March 2010: Bridal 2010 collection is now available to buy on the online hat shop.

March 2010: William was commissioned to design a headpiece for the Scottish Fashion Awards marketing campaign, he made a gloss plastic flower based on the Scottish saltire. View it here.

March 2010: Bridal 2010 collection now online - click on COLLECTIONS above to take you there.

Feb 2010: Spring/Summer 10 collection now online - click on COLLECTIONS above to take you there.

Sat 20th & Sun 21st Feb 2010: Look out for the William Chambers Millinery stand at the Scottish Wedding Show at the SECC, Glasgow, where William will be showcasing his new Bridal Range. This is the perfect opportunity to meet William, try on some of his hats and headpieces or purchase something from his ready-to-wear collection. Stand 449G. www.thescottishweddingshow.com

Jan 2010: The Royal Bank of Scotland are using a William Chambers headpiece in their current TV advertising campaign - look out for it on a mocked up Tatler cover.

Dec 2009: William is number 51 in The List's Hot 100:

Not just a hatstand: While the likes of Christopher Kane are swanning about Milan, we need equally brilliant talents like William Chambers, whose hats have been everywhere from Elle to Vogue, as well as on numerous celebrity heads, this year to keep the home fires stoked with creativity. (KI)

Dec 2009: Director of the Scottish Fashion Awards, Tessa Hartmann, wore a William Chambers headpiece to the British Fashion Awards in London, where it was admired on the red carpet by fashion journalist Hilary Alexander and Noisettes lead singer Shinghai Shoniwa. Read the full report here.

Dec 2009: The William Chambers Online Shop now up and running - click the link above to visit.

Sept 2009: Autumn/Winter 0910 Collection now online - view here.

May 2009: William Chambers Millinery has been nominated for a Scottish Fashion Award for the second year running. William is again shortlisted in the Jewellery/Accessory Designer of the Year category. The prestigious awards ceremony takes place on 21st June at Stirling Castle. Read all about the nomination and the judging panel at www.scottishfashionawards.com or on www.vogue.com
William said of his nomination "So much has happened this past year for my business – and it’s fantastic events like this that keep the Scottish fashion industry blossoming. This in turn allows me to retain my contemporary millinery business in Scotland, whilst gaining worldwide customers via my website.”

May 2009: William was commissioned to create golden ram's horns for a photoshoot by London based stylist Mohieb Dahabieh of Moda's Touch. Click here to see the clip of the shoot.

Sat 2nd May: William Chambers Millinery will appear at the Rock and Roll Fashion Show Matinee at Che Camille, Argyll Chambers, Glasgow from 2-4pm Read more and buy tickets here

April 2009: Club night Death Disco uses William's headwear for another promotional shoot. See the pics on the Clients/Projects page

28th April - 2nd May: one of William's hats is being shown at the Art of Contemporary Millinery exhibition at the Menier Gallery in London, alongside work by several renowned international milliners. Read more about the exhibtion here

9th April 2009: William is back on Vogue.com - read the article here

27th March 2009: William's designs feature in the Scottish Fashion Awards 2009 campaign, alongside Graeme Black, Christopher Kane, Graeme Armour, James Miller, Gant, Deryck Walker and Georgina Wiseman. www.scottishfashionawards.com

1st March 2009: William's new Glasgow city centre studio is now open at 180 West Regent St, off Blythswood Square. Visits and consultations are by appointment only -
please call 07815 096 367 to make one.

4th Feb 2009: VOGUE.com have written an excellent article about William - read it here

 

William Chambers gained a First Class Hons degree in Textile Design at the Scottish College of Textiles in 2001. There he was awarded for innovation in his field by The Worshipful Company of Framework Knitters and worked for textile consultant, Carruthers Associates, developing textiles for their client DuPont. Following graduation he sold his textile designs through the London Fashion Forum. From 2004-2008 William was assistant manager of VV Rouleaux Ltd, Glasgow where he created handmade headpieces for customers, as well as gaining invaluable in-depth knowledge of the retail industry. In early 2007 William studied millinery at Metropolitan University, creating a collection that was shown to great acclaim at Glasgow Fashion Week. He set up William Chambers Millinery shortly after this and received a kick-start to his career when pop star and fashion icon Roisin Murphy wore one of his hats on several dates of her European tour, resulting in great press attention.

In 2008 (and again in 2009) William was nominated as Accessory Designer of the Year at the Scottish Fashion Awards and appeared in The List magazine’s Hot 100 Scottish Movers and Shakers of the Year. He created headwear for Scottish fashion label Olanic’s London Fashion Week show and the Johnstons of Elgin homage fashion show at the Scottish Style Awards and a ready-to-wear collection for Che Camille as part of the Glasgow 10. In late 2008 he came first in the Creative 30 competition – a project set up by Vice Magazine, Volvo, The Independent and Yahoo to discover the UK’s most talented creative young people. Following this, he opened his Glasgow city centre studio and showroom in January 2009.

In December 2009 the William Chambers Online Hat Shop was launched, allowing customers around the world to purchase William Chambers hats and headpieces in various colours and sizes via one click purchasing. The online shop has been a great success so far with customers from the UK, Japan and USA purchasing items. The accessibility of the online shop has also resulted in more UK-wide press featuring his work, particularly Conde Nast’s Brides magazine, which is featuring a large selection of his SS10 and Bridal Collections in the summer issue.

In March 2010 William was invited to create several hats and headpieces for the Dressed To Kilt Fashion Show hosted by Sir Sean Connery in New York City, as part of Tartan Week. His designs, inspired by the show’s theme ‘Mad For Scotland’, featured outrageous pheasant feather headpieces, double trilbies and oversized top hats. Rock legend Joan Jett donned his enormous feather headpiece, resulting in William’s name being highlighted in a vast amount of editorial across the globe: including Style.com, NBC News, CBS News, New York Post, The Telegraph, The Sun, Metro, New Zealand Herald and Hawaii News Now!

In May 2010 William was commissioned to design an iconic piece for the Scottish Fashion Awards campaign, using the Scottish saltire as inspiration. He wanted to create something contemporary that would represent the SFA in its new venue for 2010 and beyond. Using the flag’s blue and white colours he created an oversized flower headpiece from moulded patent plastic, based on his previous black version which had been admired at the British Fashion Awards 2010. Its modern, organic style and striking patriotic colours meant it was a huge success, featuring on Vogue.com and in the Herald magazine.

In June 2010, after being nominated for the third year in a row at the Scottish fashion Awards, William won the title Scottish Accessory Designer of the Year. The award was presented to him by legendary fashion journalist Hilary Alexander. He said of winning the award:
“I am so thrilled to have won the award this year, particularly when up against such strong nominees such as Bebaroque. The Scottish Fashion Awards mean a lot to me, as a designer who has chosen to stay in Scotland, yet is having success across the UK and further afield. I think last night’s awards ceremony was the best yet and I was delighted to meet so many inspiring and talented people."

Other highlights in 2009-2010 included: more articles on Vogue.com; appearing in the Art of Contemporary Millinery exhibition at the Menier Gallery in London; launching his first Bridal Collection; having one of his pieces worn and admired on the red carpet at the British Fashion Awards; having a large magenta felt flower headpiece feature in an RBS television commercial; designing a copper headpiece for Scissor Sisters’ singer Ana Matronic; designing a hat for Royal Ascot TV presenter Suzi Perry, which she wore on the first day off coverage for the BBC; international pop star Kelis wearing one of his silver pheasant feather headpieces for her entire Glasgow show and thanking him live on stage; exhibiting alongside nine other Scottish designers and forty Scottish textile businesses in the Scotland Rediscovered - Textiles Scotland showcase at the ICA, London; featuring in various fashion editorials, including The Herald, Red, Glamour (US), Spectrum, Brides and Drama magazine.

In Spring 2011 William Chambers Millinery moved into much larger 300sq ft premises at the same address on West Regent St, Glasgow. This new larger studio enables him to offer customers a first class consultation experience.

In Summer 2011 William collaborated with fashion bloggers Les Garcons de Glasgow for a catwalk show at the Arches venue in Glasgow, showcasing his Spring/Summer 12 collection and was yet again nominated as Accessory Designer of the Year at the Scottish Fashion Awards, providing several headpieces for their promotional campaign.

In Autumn 2011 William was asked to create headwear for UK designer clothes store Cruise for their 30th anniversary catwalk show at the 2011 Scottish Style Awards and appeared in both the Stylist Top 100 Places You Should Know About supplement and the illustrious Vogue Secret Address Book. Other press in 2011 included a focus on him in NYLON Guys, Conde Naste Brides, Vogue.com, The Herald and major features in Sunday Herald and Spectrum. He also held his first sample sale which completely sold out over one weekend.

In Feb 2012 William Chambers Millinery was given his best platform to date when he was invited by the British Fashion Council and Stephen Jones to exhibit at the Headonism showcase at London Fashion Week alongside the UK’s top young millinery talent. He exhibited his AW 12/13 collection and it attracted great interest from press, bloggers, celebrities and, most importantly, buyers, with Fenwicks, Coast and Harrods inviting him to present his collection to them at their offices afterwards. Guests at the showcase included Zandra Rhodes, Livia Firth, Suzi Menkes, Hilary Alexander and of course Stephen Jones himself, all of whom were complimentary about his work. The showcase was sponsored by Royal Ascot and will also be presented there in June 2012.

"He is a fantastic milliner... He makes things that are classically beautiful in an elegant way but he makes things that are wearable. If I was Pippa or Kate I would be looking to someone like William Chambers because he has that modern edge”
(Stephen Jones, Sunday Herald, Feb 2012)

Another huge opportunity has developed in April 2012 as William Chambers Millinery was invited to New York as part of Scotland Re:Designed, a showcase of Scottish fashion and textile design talent created by Genuine PR, the Scottish Government and Creative Scotland. While there William presented his collection to various US press and buyers.

William’s taste for the avant-garde mixed with his knowledge of the retail sector results in designs which are at once both exquisite and wearable. Taking inspiration from sources as diverse as ethnic head-dresses, British birds and the Glasgow architecture, William seeks to modernise millinery with a fresh look at how we dress the head today. He mixes traditional materials such as felt and synamay with contemporary materials like latex, plastic and metallic leather, creating headwear that is both challenging and desirable.

William provides a free consultation service for exclusive commissions, working with the client to create the perfect hat or headpiece that will suit the outfit and the occasion. Read more about production time and pricing here.

For further information or to arrange an appointment, free consultation or studio visit please contact William by email or phone:
E: william_chambers@hotmail.com
T: +44 (0)7815 096367

Click HERE for high resolution press photographs.

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