DRESS SENSE: SHOCKING PINK

IT'S LIKE RED BUT NOT QUITE | May 30th 2008

The leading milliner Philip Treacy explains to Isabel Lloyd why brights light up his life ...

From INTELLIGENT LIFE magazine, Spring 2008

You use a lot of vivid colours in your work. Do you have a favourite?
That whole neon colour palette is so vibrant, it makes you feel alive. I particularly love proper, shocking Schiaperelli pink, one with a lot of blue in it. But I also like a Piccadilly Circus, fluorescent lime-green in a hat, worn on blonde or black hair, it doesn't matter.

Don't such colours only suit some people?
No, anyone can wear them, no matter what their colouring. And they're transforming. Wear a shocking pink hat with a plain black dress, for instance, and you utterly change the whole outfit.

Can anyone wear a hat, then?
Yes! Saying "I'm not a hat person" is nonsense! Would you say, "I'm not a clothes person"? No. Everyone can wear hats. Wearing a beautiful hat just adds a little extra kick to your day, it gives you more confidence.

Would you say that the brighter coloured the hat, the more confidence it gives?
Not necessarily, but people should be more open to colour. A black hat is not the whole story. I mean, it's kind of like Elvis: everybody loves Elvis Presley, everybody loves black hats. And a black hat will look good. But then again, a fluorescent green hat could look even better.

Should pink be confined to accessories?
Well, years ago, I shared a flat with the model Suzi Bick. She went to a pink specialist--yes, there is such a thing--to have a special pink paint mixed for our kitchen. I loved the way it looked different in every light, and when I designed a hotel in Ireland a couple of years ago, I painted some of the interiors shocking pink. We don't all have to live in a white room, or wear a black hat.

(Isabel Lloyd is commissioning editor of Intelligent Life)