From a theatre background and a life-long love affair with all things vintage, Kate Burch wandered into a hat-making class one day and found her true calling. A native Texan, her work in theatre led her to L.A., where she eventually owned a vintage clothing business. In 1990, her husband’s work took them from the west coast to the east, and it was in Baltimore that she started making hats full time. In 1993 she opened her store, Magpie, and expanded into clothing design, introducing, among other things, a men’s shirt line named Phillywear.
Kate moved to Chicago in 1995 and is one of the founding members of Chicago’s premiere hat organization, the Millinery Arts Alliance. She also sold her hats at Made to Fit, an artists’ co-op in Chicago owned by clothing designer Leigh Deleonardo. It was during this time that the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design requested one of her hats – the Bird Nest hat – for their permanent collection.
Kate constructs her hats by hand using age-old millinery techniques. Although her hats are evocative of an earlier era, she manages to keep the spirit but add a modern twist all her own. “I like a hat that’s wearable, no matter how outrageous. A hat should fit comfortably with the wearer’s personality, coloring, and style, to flatter and enhance their unique beauty.” Kate’s hats are one-of-a-kind, often with special vintage trimmings of ribbon, velvet fruit, antique lace, or buckles and buttons from the 1920s. She offers hats for men and women in fabric, wool felt, or cashmere, from simply beautiful to lavishly adorned. Her future plans include designing other accessories, reviving Phillywear, and putting together shows for the Gallery that will engage, enchant, and delight.
Laura Whitlock comes from a long line of crafty people. “Everyone in my family was always creating something with their hands… sewing, quilting, crocheting, woodworking, gunsmithing, oil painting. My grandfather was a wonderful, unrecognized folk artist who crafted miniature teams of horses, so I guess I always had the expectation that I would do something with my hands.”
Laura put this crafty impulse to good use, first as a studio artist, then as a costumer for theatre, but it was in millinery that she found her true love. “There was just something about the sculptural nature of millinery that spoke to me,” Laura recalls. As a milliner for theatre, she has created pieces for San Diego’s Old Globe and La Jolla Playhouse, The Denver Center, The Lyric Opera of Chicago, The Chicago Shakespeare, and for films including “The Babe,” and “My Best Friend’s Wedding.”
For over two decades, she has realized designs for her own label, Laura Whitlock Millinery. She creates hats, which range from cozy, practical winter cloches to fantastical floral cocktail whimsies. Laura is proud to list among her accomplishments having been a past president and a founding member of The Millinery Arts Alliance, Chicago’s only organization of professional hat makers. She was thrilled when the organization was named Victoria Magazine’s "Women Entrepreneurs of the Year" for 2002.
“It truly all started with Barbie,” says clothing designer Leigh Deleonardo, “pointy boobs, high-heeled feet and all. I have a whole suitcase full of things I designed for my Barbie.” Today when Deleonardo sits down to sketch a new pattern, the only trace left of Barbie's influence is her femininity. “I think in terms of body enhancing and celebrating the female figure. There is no such thing as a figure problem — we're just all different.”
Deleonardo studied fashion design at the School of the Art Institute where she was taught to take her designs “to the extreme limit.” But her most valuable experience at that time was at Mark Shale, the conservative upscale clothing store on Michigan Avenue. “Working there, I learned about fine construction and fine fabrics. I also saw a need for women to have options.”
Many of Deleonardo's garments have a retro look but are more streamlined and understated. She prefers neutral and somber colors and uses imported linens and rayon. It is the feminine mystique that has always intrigued Deleonardo. Her fashions are not revealing — they leave just enough to the imagination. Deleonardo, with intensity, makes clear what she is after. “Clothing should be something that a woman feels beautiful in. Period. End of story.”
110 Chicago Avenue, Oak Park, Illinois 60302