Hats off to Miss Molly’s "wearable works of art"

Orlando Bloom, Chris Eubanks and Charles Kennedy – just a handful of the names milliner Molly Bunce has designed for over the course of her career.

Based in London and designing bespoke suits for movie stars, barristers and members of parliament, Molly met with – and found herself inspired by – the work of London milliner and designer, Phillip Treacy.

She said: “I remember looking around in his studio, thinking God, I should’ve done millinery and not fashion!”

Molly moved back to her West Yorkshire roots to start a family, and when it came to getting back into designing, her thoughts immediately turned to following in her mother’s footsteps and becoming a milliner.

“Both my mother and father had been pestering me to get back to doing something creative so I completed the hat course my mother had previously studied and I just loved it, absolutely fell in love with it, was addicted from that moment on that first day.”

The bespoke hat brand, Good Golly Miss Molly – which launched in 2010 – has since gained a regular and loyal client base at her mother’s hat shop in Huddersfield.

“But it’s time to take it to the next level, mum’s been working there for ten years and I’ve got more energy and I’m bursting to go!

“She does a range from couture to classic to mother of the bride the same as me but the two of us have our own separate style. Obviously we need to make your bread and butter hats – hats for the races, mother of the bride, ascot, guest wedding hats, there’s a whole range you NEED to cover,” Molly added.

Molly’s inspiration for her couture hats comes from what she describes as beautiful objects, such as a bird’s wing, a piece of jewellery or a metal sphere.

“I love to use cutting edge fabrics in conjunction with traditional millinery techniques, I’d probably say my works are best described as wearable works of art. So I don’t tend to look at other people’s work for inspiration I just intuitively feel my way in fabrics.”

The brand also runs hat parties mainly targeted at hens and brides looking for something a little bit different for their pre-wedding party. Hosted at several venues across Yorkshire, Molly invites bridesmaids to come together for the day to design and create their own headpiece to wear on the big day.

“It’s a £10m industry and I just thought everything seems to be so laid out and there isn’t many bespoke services, and I saw a bit of niche in the market, a bit of a desire to create something bespoke.

“The hen market just works so well, because nowadays people have a couple of hen parties so they cover both going out to a club and something for your mother, your aunt, your grandmother.”

With the hat parties and her own private tuition proving successful, Good Golly Miss Molly plans to launch the company further, planning to add flagship stores such as Harrods and Liberty as stockists. Molly is also hoping to “have them on some famous people’s heads”.

She said: “I just love making hats, and getting my work out there and seeing my creations on people’s heads – its just such a rewarding feeling. It’s not a necessity it’s a luxury item, but I want it to become something that’s desirable for everyone.”