Hats Off: Millinery in Sanlitun Soho

After five years of catering exclusively to the rich and glamorous, milliner Elisabeth Koch has set up shop with Chinese high-street brand Hatters' Hub in Sanlitun Soho. While Koch, who has hatted the likes of Kate Middleton and Zhang Ziyi, will continue to design bespoke hats for a price tag of around RMB 4,000, she now also acts as creative director for the Jeffsun, Sinossance and Hatters labels, which sell factory-produced headwear at a tenth of the price.

Whether shoppers are in the market for off-the-wall designer headpieces like Koch's floppy Barbie-adorned number or a box-standard black trilby, they can find all of the above in Hatters' Hub’s cozy flagship store. On one side of the room, you'll find luxurious Swarovski hat brooches – on the other, a selection of woolly knit caps. Hat fanatics can head towards the back of the boutique to watch Koch at work in her studio, while metrosexuals can try to find the flat cap that best matches their man-bags.

One assumes that Hatters' Hub is delighted to be associated with Elisabeth Koch, whose creations have graced the pages of countless fashion magazines, and whose orange fascinator landed the Vogue China cover last December. For her part, Koch seems to appreciate that in only three years, Hatters' Hub has established a strong foothold in the Chinese hat market by appealing to the young and upwardly mobile. This alliance between highbrow and middlebrow might alienate the ladies at Ascott, but as individuality becomes more affordable in China, we tip our hat to them.

Also try: Shengxifu, Lids

Hatters’ Hub 帽仕汇 Unit 5135, 1/F, Bldg 5, Sanlitun Soho, 8 Gongti Beilu, Chaoyang District (5785 3078)
朝阳区三里屯Soho 5号楼1层5135铺

By subway: 700m west of Tuanjiehu station (Line 10)

Photo: Sarah Karacs