Changing shape: autumn millinery tips

When the season turns, millinery shifts with it. Jill Humphries outlines the shapes, fabrics and colours set to dominate trackside this autumn.

Rich fabrics

“With the move from Spring/Summer into Autumn millinery, we start thinking of rich, plush fabrics as opposed to straw and lighter fabrications in millinery,” Humphries says.

“Stunning rich velour and fur felts create a warmth and richness that is hard to find in any other fabrication.”

Autumn is where texture really counts. Feathers and veiling add interest, and covering a piece in matching dress fabric can pull everything together – particularly when you have excess fabric from your outfit to pass on to your milliner.

Stronger shapes

While spring often favours lift and lightness, autumn calls for shape.

“Autumn shapes will continue to be influenced by pillboxes and sharp fedoras or trilbies,” Humphries explains. “Some more interesting shapes are also coming through in berets.”

Practicality becomes part of the decision-making, too.

“Stay away from big brims like Bretons and oversized hats. Wind and rain can ruin the look quickly if you have to hold your hat, and as you are more likely to be inside, big pieces can be challenging.”

Jewel-box colour

Colour deepens as the weather cools.

“The demand for rich minerals and jewels is the feel – think copper, rust, topaz and through to ruby, emerald, citrine and smoky quartz,” she says. “Basically, raid your grandmother’s jewellery box and apply those colours in your dressing.”

These tones sit naturally alongside autumn tailoring and heavier fabrics, adding warmth without overpowering a look.

Completing the look

Autumn dressing allows for more elements – stockings, boots, gloves, scarves and capes – and millinery needs to work within that layered picture.

“Balanced autumn millinery should complete the visual story for the outfit. As the dresser has more to work with, you need to make sure it all works cohesively, and no one piece competes,” Humphries says. “In autumn, just a dress and a fascinator doesn’t quite cut it. You have the opportunity to go nuts with layered details, so have fun with it and create your own story.”

The equestrian reference

With 2026 marking the Year of the Horse, Humphries anticipates creative interpretations.

“The classic snaffle always rears itself in winter millinery and is the perfect trim on a fedora for those who like a subtle reference to horses,” she says.

Get creative

Humphries would love to see individuality take centre stage, perhaps inspired by the recent Vivienne Westwood exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria, curated in part by past VRC Millinery Award judge Stephen Jones. “I’m hoping to see some interpretations of those styles trackside. Perhaps tartan fabrication hats, tricorns and definitely a few jaunty statement pieces that reflect real individuality.”

Refresh, don’t replace

For those looking to update rather than invest, there are options.

“Hats can be reblocked, but it does depend on the quality of the hat to begin with,” Humphries explains. “Seasoned milliners still look for the holy grail straws in thrift shops – paribuntals – which are of a quality not often seen anymore and often end up reblocked into a modern shape.”

For most, a simpler update will do. “You can change the look of a current hat simply by adding veiling to a piece you love. That’s a quick and fun way to change your look.”

Another idea is to borrow from a friend. “Many people I know have a friends-sharing WhatsApp group. They upload photos of millinery and share them only with friends. This is a great way of saving some money but still wearing a piece you haven’t been seen in before.”

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