ZGDW 2026

PROGRAM

ZGDW AWARD

Select Language

English

ZGDW AWARD FINALISTS /

Textile and Fashion Design

Boho headwear

Sculptural Forms

Project

Sculptural Forms is a collection of handcrafted felt hats that explores the intersection of millinery, sculpture, and architecture. Instead of functioning as decorative fashion accessories, the hats are conceived as wearable sculptures that redefine the relationship between body, form, and space.

Each piece originates from a fundamental geometric gesture – a fold, a loop, a pleat, or an enveloped volume – which is transformed into a three-dimensional object using traditional millinery techniques. Steaming, blocking, and hand-shaping allow the felt to become both structure and surface.

The collection focuses on the expressive potential of form. Ornament is reduced to its essential role within the construction, while movement emerges through volume, proportions, and continuous lines. Each hat offers a distinct sculptural presence, while simultaneously remaining part of a coherent visual language.

The Sculptural Forms collection, rooted in the tradition of handcrafted millinery but interpreted through a contemporary design perspective, invites the observer to perceive the hat not merely as a fashion accessory, but as an autonomous sculptural object that activates the human body.

Year

2026

Author

Špela Strašek, a milliner and hat designer, is the founder of the Boho Headwear brand. In 2024, she was recognised as a Bearer of Intangible Cultural Heritage in the field of hat making.

Boho Headwear is a Slovenian brand of handmade headwear, ranging from hats to other fashion accessories. It combines the rich heritage of traditional craftsmanship with new techniques, offering a fresh and innovative perspective on this almost forgotten art.

She acquired her knowledge of design and sewing by attending various courses, learning from the best masters of the craft in Celje, and through online courses from international designers. The rich history of unique headwear inspires her work and motivates her to revive this forgotten craft with her designs and knowledge.

The Boho Headwear brand's offering includes hats, headbands, turbans, hairbands, hair bows, and fascinators. Each piece is handmade in her ateliers in Celje, from quality materials, forming part of the regular collection.

Her hats have been exhibited at the prestigious London Hat Week and presented as part of the Royal Ascot event, in collaboration with the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in London, and at a Garden Party at Buckingham Palace. Their hats have been published in “Harper’s Bazaar”, “Numéro Magazine”, “Grazia”, and “L'officiel” magazines.