Jul 31, 2012

Lady Gaga Inspires Olympic London Statue Makeover

Photo by Martin McNeil/Getty Images for Mayor of London's Office

London’s statues of historical figures like Captain John Smith, Queen Victoria, and the 1st Duke of Wellington received a playful makeover today for the 2012 Olympics. Commissioned by London Mayor Boris Johnson, the project – titled Hatwalk – features the work of 21 established and emerging milliners who designed hats for the statues to wear during the Games.






Ian Bennett created a modern cocked hat for the 1st Duke of Wellington, complete with fanciful red, white, and blue feathers, and a wavy rendition of the Union Jack. In Trafalgar Square, Sir Henry Havelock sports an iridescent Philip Treacy circular headpiece similar to the one Lady Gaga had on during the 2011 MTV Europe Music Awards. Stephen Jones conceptualized elaborate crowns for King George IV and his horse. Franklin Roosevelt has a comical giant Spam hat topped with feathers by John Boyd, while the Winston Churchill statue perched beside F.D.R. is topped with a bowler by Herbert Johnson.


“I am thrilled to be able to showcase British millinery during the year of the Olympics in London,” said Jones, according to British Vogue.