Boswell Millinery’s Cutting Edge Headpieces Elevate Your Bridal Style

Chapeau de Mariage

By Giuseppa Nadrowski   |   Photos courtesy of Boswell Millinery

In the early 1990s, Boswell Hardwick, the founder and owner of Metro Detroit-based Boswell Millinery, was doing hair and makeup for editorial photo shoots for both local and national publications. It was during this time that he saw legendary rap artist LL Cool J don his iconic bucket hat — a hat that would inspire Hardwick to begin his millinery journey.

“I really wanted a hat like that, so I decided that I would just make one,” he says. “I had a background in sewing and my mom always sewed.”

He fashioned a pattern out of a grocery bag, made the hat — which he describes as more of a “top hat” — and wore it out. “It was a hit,” says Hardwick, who is also an esteemed fashion photographer, artist, and art director. “I wore it to this awesome concert, and a couple weeks later, I was on the front page of one of the local newspapers.”

While he may have put millinery on pause soon after, he decided to revitalize his passion in 2019 when a former client asked him to create a hat for an event. “I had kept everything from the ’90s, so I decided I would dig up some of my old stuff and see if I could make a go of it,” he says. “I made this really huge, frothy, ostrich feather extravaganza.”

His client won an award for donning the best hat at the event.

“It got me excited about hats again,” Hardwick says. He decided to create a few designs to show some of his industry friends in Paris. They were “incredulous,” he says. “I thought, if I can impress these people, then maybe I really have something here. It really inspired me.” In 2020, he went back to Paris for the launch of his inaugural collection, Ghost, at the Place des Vosges. Boswell Millinery was officially back.

Since then, Hardwick has gone on to show two headwear collections at Pitti Uomo in Florence, participated in three exhibitions in Paris, and has created custom designs for the editorial shoots of celebrated photographer Ellen von Unwerth and fashion stylist Mike Adler. He’s also worked with luminaries such as Academy Award-winning actress Diane Keaton and legendary R&B artist Usher.

“Music videos and fashion editorial shoots — that’s really kind of a sweet spot for me,” Hardwick says. “I want to do interesting, kind of outrageous things.”

Today, his collections are hand-crafted and comprised of ready-to-wear pieces and one-of-a-kind, couture designs. This year, Hardwick launched his first bridal line, Ceremony 25. “I like the idea of being a part of somebody’s really special day,” he says.

The collection is a romantic vision of nature and femininity with abounding floral inspiration. Using horsehair, Hardwick’s bridal creations are a whimsical portrait of his artistry. “Generally, {horsehair is} not a fabric that’s seen,” Hardwick says. “It’s unseen — so I loved bringing it to the light because it’s really a beautiful, versatile fabric.”

From his Floral Mohawk to his Bridal Bucket Hat and his classic yet cutting-edge fascinators, each hand-made piece reimagines traditional wedding-day fashion for the modern bride. Take his Bridal Helmet for example. Comprised of handmade poppies and glistening with crystals, the Bridal Helmet, which takes up to 35 hours to create, epitomizes Hardwick’s elevated vision for the collection and his brand.

“It’s a difficult niche. Hats were de rigueur in the ’40s and ’50s until the early ’60s, when it kind of all ended,” he says. “But the thing I like about hats is that hats are transformative. A hat will change you. A hat will make you feel differently. A hat will make you look different. A hat will make people see you differently. I love that it will just make you feel special.”

To learn more visit boswellmillinery.com.