David Shilling

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David Shilling
Born (1949-06-27) 27 June 1949 (age 72)
London, UK
NationalityBritish
EducationSt Paul's School, London
Parent(s)Gertrude Shilling (deceased, 1999)
Ronald Shilling (deceased, 1988)

David Shilling (born 27 June 1949[citation needed]) is a self-taught creative artist, English milliner, sculptor, fashion and interior designer.[1] He is best known for designing extravagant hats and clothing displayed on Ladies' Day at Royal Ascot[2] He is known as "The Hatman” and "the Mad Hatter.” He is currently a Prospective Private Astronaut.[3]

Childhood[]

David Shilling was born in London and attended St Paul's School, London.[4][5] By the age of twelve he was designing hats and outfits for his mother, Gertrude, for her to wear to the Ascot horse races until she died in 1999.[6] By the age of thirteen he was creating toys to sell at his local shop, and later, scarves and accessories to major British retailers such as Fenwick, Fortnum & Mason, and Liberty.

Early trading[]

Shilling opened his first store in Marylebone High Street in 1976: two days after its opening the store received an order from a rock star's wife for twenty four hats.[7]

His first collection was purchased in America by Bloomingdale's; and other stores began selling his creations soon afterwards. In the late 1970s Bergdorf Goodman charged up to $3,000 for a David Shilling hat.

Later activities[]

Shilling subsequently decided to stop the wholesale branch of his hat-making works and focus entirely on made-to-order products.

In 2007 he displayed the first of an expected ten collections of hats (each priced at £1,000,000) at Top Marques Monaco.[8] In November 2009 he held his first show in mainland China at the Ritz-Carlton in Beijing. His work encompasses all areas of art, fashion and design, outdoor sculpture, jewellery, men’s and ladies' bespoke clothing, accessories, home furnishings, theatre, ballet, opera and interior design.

Charitable Work[]

Shilling has worked with many charities, including Consortium for Street Children for whom he designed their logo & helped organise their launch at 10 Downing Street, World Horse Welfare, a patron of Action on Addiction, Darwin Centre, Natural History Museum, London, and created a millinery course for HM Prison, The Mount.

Notable events[]

1980 BBC British TV series "Arena" created a film on Shilling "How to Get Ahead in Fashion"

1988 Invited by the USSR to show his hats during the first Miss USSR Pageant in Moscow, the first live TV broadcast throughout the USSR, which was viewed by 200 million.[9]

1990 Headed a successful mission for the United Nations in Ecuador which led to other projects as an art and design ambassador with the UN in Africa and Asia.

1994 Invited to design the emblem for Britain's Festival of Arts and Culture; due to this he became a driving force behind the new "Cool Britannia" re-branding of Britain.[10]

1998 Designs for theatre, opera, ballet, film and TV formed an exhibition at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.[11]

2005 A series of 40 ft tall stainless steel and aluminum sculptures collectively called "Hope" installed atop Primrose Hill in London's Regents Park as part of "Discover - Positive Elements of Life."

2010 A hat with diamonds created by David in the late 1970s was nominated by the Guinness World Records as the most expensive hat in the world in the 21st century.[12]

2018 Launches World Yacht Party, a collection of music videos and recordings.

2012 Preview of a collection of hats designed for men at the Embassy of Monaco, London.

2021 Applies to join a ten-day mission to the International Space Station (ISS) in a mixed crew of professional and privately funded astronauts.[13]

In Collections[]

Metropolitan Museum of Art[14] (New York)

Philadelphia Museum of Art[15]

Los Angeles County Museum[16]

The Louvre's Musée des Arts Décoratifs

Victoria and Albert Museum (London)[17]

British Government Art Collection Acrylic on Canvas (London)[18]

Holdenby House Steel Sculptures, Northampton England[19]

External links[]

  • Official website
  1. ^ Pearson, L. (4 April 2003). "A head for design". The Scotsman. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  2. ^ Freedman, L. (2010). "Vintage hats". BBC Worldwide. Archived from the original on 20 July 2012. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
  3. ^ Craig, Duncan. "Rocket man: meet the £40m space tourist". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  4. ^ http://www.answers.com/topic/david-shilling
  5. ^ http://www.davidshilling.com/development.html
  6. ^ http://www.answers.com/topic/david-shilling
  7. ^ http://www.davidshilling.com/development.html
  8. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 7 January 2010. Retrieved 12 April 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 June 2010. Retrieved 12 April 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 7 January 2010. Retrieved 12 April 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. ^ http://www.davidshilling.com/uptonow.html
  12. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 7 January 2010. Retrieved 12 April 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. ^ "Rocket man: meet the £40m space tourist". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  14. ^ "Met Museum Collections". www.metmuseum.org. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  15. ^ "Philadelphia Museum of Art - Collections Object : Woman's Hat: The Cocktail Hat". www.philamuseum.org. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  16. ^ "Woman's Cartwheel Hat | LACMA Collections". collections.lacma.org. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  17. ^ Museum, Victoria and Albert. "Hat | David Shilling | V&A Explore The Collections". Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  18. ^ "AUTH9376 Archives". Government Art Collection. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  19. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 23 May 2009. Retrieved 12 April 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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