As part of the fashion industry, hat makers often remain obscure under the spotlight. During the Paris Fashion Week in September 2023, the author visited showrooms of hat makers scattered across Paris. Through conversations with hat makers Karin & Makoto Horisaki, Reinhard Plank, and Ewa Kulasek, the author gained insight into their creative processes and lifestyles away from the center of fashion. Unlike the fashion designers, hat makers who see themselves as artisans often find their brands trapped in a lack of commercialization. These three hat makers have absolute control over their production and share common perspectives on brand management. As both spokespersons and operators of their brands, designers have little energy left for marketing and business operations. They are unwilling to sacrifice the artistic and craftsmanship standards of their work, so they need to strike a balance between scaling up production and maintaining quality. Faced with a relatively niche market, hat makers either secure their unique position, maintaining high prices with exquisite craftsmanship, or expand their categories, extending their products to more fashion fields.

作为时尚行业的一部分，帽饰设计师常隐没在聚光灯下。在 2023 年 9 月的巴黎时装周期间，作者走访了散布在巴黎的制帽师的 showroom，通过与制帽人 Karin & Makoto Horisaki、Reinhard Plank 和 Ewa Kulasek 的交谈，作者深入了解了他们的创作过程和远离时尚中心的生活方式。与时装设计师不同，将自己视为手工艺者的帽饰设计师常常发现自己的品牌被困在商业化不足的处境中。这 3 位帽饰设计师对生产方式拥有绝对话语权，在经营品牌的思路上有明显共同点。作为品牌的代言人与实际运营者，设计师几乎没有多余的精力研究营销与管理环节。他们只与买手店和零售商合作，以此节省时间投入生产环节。他们并不想牺牲作品的艺术性和手工艺标准，因此需要在扩大生产规模和保持质量之间做出取舍。面对一个相对小众的市场，帽饰设计师要么找到属于自己的独特定位，以精湛的手工艺维持昂贵的价格，要么开拓品类，将自己的设计思维延伸至更多领域。