There were a lot of people wearing hats at the hat event outside the Tate Modern. I found myself interested in some people and not in others. It wasn’t just a matter of what they were wearing but of how they presented. Some people seem to invite people in, and others seemed to present such a strong appearance that I felt I had no part in their presentation.

This particular man was very nice. I asked him who he was and he said he was the president of the British Hat Guild. I caught the words but then forgot exactly what he said.

Back home, Google came to the rescue and I found that he is:

Stephen Jones OBE (born 1957) is a British milliner based in London, who is considered one of the most radical and important milliners of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. He is also one of the most prolific, having created hats for the catwalk shows of many leading couturiers and fashion designers, such as John Galliano at Dior and Vivienne Westwood.

His work is known for its inventiveness and high level of technical expertise.

Jones co-curated the 2009 exhibition Hats: An Anthology for the Victoria and Albert Museum.

There is more to his illustrious biography on this Stephen Jones Wikipedia page.

What is that expression? He is not exactly looking askance. It is not a look of suspicion, mistrust, or disapproval. But there is something analytical about his expression – not a unifying look that connects with the other. Rather, a standing back and analysing.

Of course the expression is frozen by the camera, but I remember this as being his countenance.

And it fits, given that this was at the annual Hat Walk, and he could be Freud, talking to a man who is either a cowboy from the wild frontier, or a potential patient with delusions.

I think this man has the idea. Apart from his hat, he is wearing unremarkable clothes, unlike some people who were dressed head to toe in stuff. There was for example, someone dressed like Neil Armstrong when he stepped onto the Moon, head to toe in a white padded spacesuit, with a helmet and backpack.

Writing the word ‘spacesuit’ makes me think how we can date the origin of this word because there was a time within some people’s living memory when there was no space into which humans could go that would require a spacesuit.