“Sculptural headwear for Earthlings” is the tag line of uniquely inspired San Francisco hat designer, Jasmin Zorlu.  There is a subtle implication that inspiration has come from exotic and extra-terra firmas, and viewing Jasmin’s collection of hats confirms the feeling.

And without a doubt, talking with Jasmin also confirms the feeling.

“I was born in Germany, grew up in Japan and Iceland, studied art in Michigan and then design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City where I ended up working on hats for theatrical productions and other milliners.  Oh, and I love films from the 30’s and 40’s and anything Art Deco.”

How do such far flung influences strike a harmonic chord?  Like a number of interesting California designers, there is a personal and considered mixture of philosophical spirituality.

“A hat should be a transformative experience for a woman, it should evoke new and different feelings about herself.”

And not just her own feelings.

“The right hat for a woman is a magnetic force.  It is part of woman’s nature to be attractive and the right hat can become a great force for attraction.”

Any beautiful or exciting garment can help a woman be attractive, but there is something special about hats.

“Hats are the adornment we can wear that is closest to the eyes.  It is the eyes, after all, where attraction is expressed, received and exchanged.”

Let’s look for example at this very beautiful hat, framing and adorning the woman’s natural attractiveness and teasingly directing the energy of her admirers directly where it belongs.

Red Hat – Jasmin Zorlu

As important as attraction is, there is more to life for Earthlings.

“A powerful hat protects the crown chakra, the seat of consciousness.  It gives a woman strength and protection in the world.”

One of Jasmin’s signature materials is fish skin leather.  She has experimented with fish skin leathers from salmon to carp in the past, though her current favorite is perch.  These hats are made almost entirely of fishskin – no underlying base – and are handstitched.  Appropriately, these hats are called “helmets”.

Fishskin Helmet – Jasmin Zorlu

Before we start thinking that the only people worthy of attraction and protection are women, Jasmin reveals that she is doing increasing work for men’s hats. The world would be a better place if more men wore stylish hats.

“I think we have to blame JFK for putting the nail in the coffin of men’s hats.”

“There was a resurgence of fedoras in the past couple of years, but I think that men’s driving caps from the 20’s are what’s interesting for men right now.”

Men’s Driving Cap – Jasmin Zorlu

That’s pretty cool.  I will have to get myself one of those.

One of Jasmin’s best known hats is the molecular mermaid helmet.  A store owner in New York asked her to make a hat with the colors of water, resulting in this hat Jasmin created by hand-cutting and stitching circles of fur felt from the Czech Republic.

In this picture Erykah Badu, singer, record producer and actress of some recent notoriety, is wearing one of the three molecular mermaid helmets that she commissioned from Jasmin.  We can only hope it is busy protecting Erykah these days.

Erykah Badu in Molecular Mermaid Helmet – Jasmin Zorlu

Jasmin finds inspirations arriving from a number of directions: out of the blue, from dreams, from seeing things in mistaken or impressionistic ways, and by working with materials.

“I put my heart and my energy into my hats.  When a woman wears my hats she is receiving my energy.  I hope to frame a woman’s beauty and help her feel more confident.”

“I think my hats also make women more approachable.  I’ve had many women tell me that my hats are actually a good networking tool for them.”

Jasmin Zorlu was voted ‘Best Hatmaker’ by SF Weekly’s ‘Best of San Francisco 2009′ and is a 2009 ‘Hatty Award’ recipient by Hat Life, the Headwear and Millinery Industry’s #1 resource.

You can see more of Jasmin’s hats and learn where to buy them by visiting her website at www.jasminzorlu.com.

Jasmin Zorlu