A British-Indian at London Fashion Week

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]WON GOLDING, an award-winning milliner (hat-maker) based in London is a British-Indian milliner. She custom designs and also stocks her hats at London’s prestigious design emporium, Liberty. She has spent an eclectic youth in India, Hong Kong and England and draws on her multicultural heritage to inspire dynamic headpieces. As part of London Fashion Week (September 12-15), she will be showing her hats at its millinery showcase, Headonism. About her collection: “I am basing the spring/summer 2015 collection on my Tangkhul Naga (North-East Indian) tribal roots: couture millinery with an ethnic edge. I’m doing research at the Pitt-Rivers Museum in Oxford which holds one of the best anthropological collections of Naga artefacts in the world.” About the designer: Working as a fashion writer and magazine editor in Hong Kong, she eventually decamped to London to pursue her dream of millinery. After an apprenticeship with renowned London milliner Edwina Ibbotson, she went on to receive a Distinction in Millinery from the Kensington and Chelsea College. A job designing hats and soft accessories for high street giants *Topshop* and *River Island* followed, after which Awon decided to set up her own label. Her flair and creative talent were recognised by The Honourable Feltmaker’s Guild, who awarded her first prize in its annual millinery competition in 2010, and she recently won the Industry prize at the *Hat Designer of the Year, competition 2013 for her collection inspired by the Queen of Bhutan.