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 miliners. 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

21st-22nd February 2009: Look out for the William Chambers Millinery stand (410FF) at the Scottish Wedding Show at the SECC, Glasgow. Ready to wear hats and headpieces will be available to purchase and William will be on hand to discuss commissions with future brides, mothers of the bride, bridesmaids and anyone else looking for a hat or headpiece for the big day. www.thescottishweddingshow.com

16th Dec 2008: William attended the Creative 30 exhibition and awards presentation at the Maverick Rooms in London where he was presented with the keys to his new Volvo C30 R Design for winning the People's Vote. www.creative30.net

10th Dec 2008: William appears at number 25 in The List magazine's Hot 100 movers and shakers of 2008 - read more and see the full 100 here

24th Nov 2008: William has won the people's vote in the VICE Magazine Creative 30 competition (supported by Volvo, The Independent and Yahoo!), which celebrates thirty of Britain’s most promising young creative people. A big thanks to all who voted for him! www.creative30.net

24th Oct 2008: William was commissioned to design a selection of hats for the Johnstons of Elgin homage fashion show at the Scottish Style Awards, held at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum. www.scottishstyleawards.co.uk Click here to see some backstage pics.

28th Sept 2008: William showed pieces from his Autumn/Winter 08/09 collection at last night's Brand New You're Retro Fashion Show in aid of Childline, part of Glasgow's Merchant City Festival - see pictures here

20th Sept 2008: William created headwear for Olanic's recent London Fashion Week show - see photos on Vogue.com here and the catwalk video on youTube here

16th Sept 2008: William has been selected by Che Camille as one of the Glasgow 10, which means his work will be showcased for a year in their new, top floor Buchanan St residence, which opens this autumn. Go to www.checamille.com for more information.

 

William Chambers gained a First Class Honours degree in Textile Design at the Scottish College of Textiles, Heriot Watt University in 2001. There he was awarded for innovations in his field by The Worshipful Company of Framework Knitters. He was also awarded sponsorship by Loro Piana and Todd & Duncan and gained invaluable design experience working for leading 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 attended a hat-making course at Metropolitan University, creating a collection that was shown to great acclaim at Glasgow Fashion Week in April 2007. After setting up William Chambers Millinery and website shortly after this, he was commissioned to design headwear for his first customers and his designs featured in various Scottish press titles and fashion websites. 2007 culminated in a major boost to William’s 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.

2008 saw William continue to create bespoke commissions for customers, as well as a collection for Scottish fashion label Olanic’s London Fashion Week show. Other highlights were his nomination as Accessory Designer of the Year at the Scottish Fashion Awards and appearing at number 25 in The List magazine’s Hot 100 Scottish Movers and Shakers of 2008. In September he was chosen by Che Camille, Glasgow’s home for independent design, as one of the Glasgow 10 to be showcased in their new Buchanan Street premises. Yet again 2008 ended with a huge boost to William Chambers Millinery as William won the people’s vote 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. The prize was a new Volvo C30 R Design .

Following this William set up his city centre studio to work full time as William Chambers Millinery from early 2009. William is an advocate of Scotland’s current, highly-esteemed position in the fashion world and is keen to establish himself in Glasgow, a city renowned for its nurturing of innovative young designers.

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.