A KALTBLUT exclusive. Howard Atelier introduces Chapter One: “The Facade You Wore,” a collection that reimagines the hat as a sculptural mask, rooted in the language of performance and concealment. Each piece inhabits the liminal space between public persona and the private self, dissolving the distinction between wearer and observer.
Through streamlined designs, the collection probes the tension of identity: the interplay of anonymity and expression, exposure and secrecy. The act of transformation through wearable sculptures invites you to reflect on the questions: What truths do we choose to unveil, and what do we shield in shadow?
This chapter sets the stage for a journey into the charged space where authenticity and artifice collide, challenging the viewer to reconsider the masks we all wear. Set within a place often deemed private and overlooked, the location is transformed into a site where observers are compelled to watch rather than turn away.
In viewing these still moments, you too become an observer peering and gazing into the lives of others, where intimate acts of innocence quietly unfold.
The Façade You Wore concludes by turning the gaze back onto the observer, asking us to confront our role in the act of looking. It leaves us with a sharper awareness of the fragile line between what is revealed and what remains concealed.
Presented by Howard Atelier / @howardatelier
Creative Director Matthew Howard / @bymatthew_howard
Photographer Omer Ga’ash / @omergaash
Makeup Astrid Wu / @astrid_wu
BTS Georgie Earnshaw / @g.earnshaw_
Assistant Georgie Earshaw
Assistant Yağmur Taçar / @yagmurtacar
Talent Mingxiang Wang / @minghsiang9
Talent Luke Cartwright / @lukecartwright_
Brands used: Studio Panama, Yuhan Ao, Wink Atelier
@studiopanama8, @yuhanao.offical, @wink_atelier
British New Zealander designer Matthew Howard, founder of Howard Atelier, graduated from Central Saint Martins with an MA in Performance Design. Matthew seeks to bring a unique sensibility to millinery, one that sits at the intersection of theatre, sculpture, and functionality. He approaches millinery as both a craft and a cultural expression. Matthew has been selected for the prestigious CHANEL & The King’s Foundation Métiers d’Art Millinery Fellowship in partnership with Le19M (2025/26).
Howard Atelier is a London-based creative house redefining millinery through an artistic lens. The atelier seeks to blend traditional craftsmanship with contemporary design to create bespoke, high-quality headwear that transcends fashion, embodying form, movement, and storytelling. Sculptural yet wearable, elegant yet experimental, each piece is designed to transform the wearer, offering glimpses of identity, emotion, and character. Whether refined everyday styles or bold, theatrical statements, Howard Atelier exists in the space where tradition meets reinvention.
