Carole & Nigel Denford (The Hat Magazine, London, UK)
The largest hat exhibition in Russia (and probably the world!) opened its doors at the impressive Gostiny Dvor in Moscow for the fifth year running. Organised by the Kordon Company, Chapeau has grown steadily, attracting hat buyers, hat makers and designers from all over Russia. We knew before we arrived that, with more than 300 exhibitors and the long list of competitions that were scheduled, Chapeau was to be the largest hat show we had ever visited, but we were not prepared for the wonderful setting and the modern facilities there. Entering the hall on the first floor balcony we had a perfect overview of the show, before tak­ing the wide sweeping staircase to the main exhibition area. Natural light shone through the splendid domed glass roof, covering appox 5,600 sq mtrs, making this a per­fect exhibition space. A wide arched gallery around the upper floors contained offices, restaurants, bars and other facilities. And, as Moscow basked in its hottest summer on record (35°C while we were there) the air conditioning at Gostiny Dvor worked perfectly. At the far end was a circular lower level with tiered seating to accomodate about 300 people. This is where a stage and catwalk were set up with tables at the side for the 20 or so judges who were to vote on the many competitions.

Chapeau 2007 began with a grand open­ing ceremony, where the Directors of the show together with Mr. Slava Zaitsev, Rus­sia's foremost couturier, and international representatives (including ourselves) were presented on the stage to make short wel­coming speeches. Immediately the ceremo­ny was over, the competitions began on the catwalk and the serious task of judging began. In various categories, judged over two days, each company or designer had up to seven minutes to present a small col­lection of up to 15 styles, each one mod­eled on the catwalk. The largest group, the 'Headwear Manufacturers contest' divided into six separate contests covering a wide range of materials was presented on Mon­day. Tuesday began with a static competi­tion followed on the catwalk by the 'Young Talent' and the 'College Student Contest'. After the competitions the podium was used for non-contest catwalk shows of headwear collections, so the area was busy throughout the day. There were also demonstrations, workshops and private presentations by the larger hat companies in small rooms along­side the shows.
In the main hall most exhibitors were showing winter collections, both for men and women. Many of the companies had stock available which was eagerly purchased by buyers from across Russia. The larger manufacturers were here to meet buyers and take orders for winter, delivering early October for both felts and furs. I felt some­what overwhelmed at the selection of fur hats available and felt that Chapeau was going to be a big 'learning experience' for us. We had to remember that winters in Rus­sia can be extremely severe and that fur is worn here for warmth and survival and not only for fashion. Just a few of the smaller designers were showing more niche ranges of occasionwear, in straw and sinamay. For the hat makers there was the Russian manufacturer of felt hoods, Fetr, plus the stands of the many agents for the Czech felt manufacturer Tonak, also selling hoods and ready-made hats. From Italy were hat body supplier Trendintex and hatmaking machinery manufacturer Michelagnoli.

Straw, sinamay and other raw materials we found on only one stand, Bella, and there were two companies offering pre-cut peaks. But fur was the material most in demand with a very wide selection of styles on offer as well companies selling quality pelts. On one of these stands we noticed a small range of wooden blocks for sale.
After three days of judging and meeting the many different suppliers at the show (and we missed a great many people) the grand finale took place on Thursday at 12 noon. Tension was high as winners were announced and presented with awards, spe­cial presentations were made and the clos­ing ceremony was performed. Chapeau was produced to a very high standard and is an exhibition that is the equal of any interna­tional show and a very special one for the hat industry.

------ This report is taken from The Hat Magazine, an independent publication for all those within the hat industry, which is sent worldwide by subscription to buyers, designers and manufacturers.

Following our coverage of Chapeau, the largest hat exhibition of its kind in Russia, we have a number of copies with a Russian translation, to send free of charge to major participants of the hat industry across Russia.

If you would like to receive a copy of this issue, please forward your name and company address and your position within the industry to: info@thehatmagazine.com (in English if possible)

The Hat Magazine
www.thehatmagazine.com ------

Lidiya Sviridyuk:
“… Before “CHAPEAU” I was nobody. I used to be looking for sales, but the contacts with customers were few. Now I am happy! Such an exhibition is the only one on the world, it is necessary for both - young and experienced manufacturers. Future is behind it. It should be just the way it is: prestigious, festive and only at Gostiny Dvor. Cultural programme of the exhibition, parties, receptions unite participants. We find friends and business partners, then we exchange with phone calls, meet each other, help each other.
Wholesale Season is a good thing to do. We need this closed meeting with wholesalers to be able to get ready for the season in time. The one who had got an order earlier is the one who sewed the products in time, you know…”

OOO “Mekhico” (Kirov):
“… Business agenda of the Wholesale Season-2006 was so intense (training seminars, showings) that we even did not have enough time to visit everything. It would be nice to get more information about plan of events holding. After “CHAPEAU” we don’t stop accepting orders. This means that the exhibition’s dates have been chosen correctly….”

MKS company (Saint-Petersburg):
“… Everything is on time and convenient. For both parties. We know which vein to work in, offer our products. Wholesalers have an opportunity to discuss, direct us. This project should have been done long before, cause we used to work blindly on “gut reaction”. Such events cannot be ceased to held. Finally we start getting to doing business in a European way…”
Fur Country (“Strana Mekhov”) company (Moscow):
“… Wholesale Season is a useful project. Good preparation and as a result – good outcome. It is late to take orders for the current season in August, thus April exhibition is very important. The only wish is to increase the lists of invited wholesale companies…”

Tavitta company (Moscow):
“… The spring exhibition makes sense. We are glad that it is held. Efficiently oriented wholesalers make advance orders, manufacturer adjusts production, purchase work materials additionally – it is very effective. And CHAPEAU in its turn, is a well-organized, adequate image exhibition with a civilized behavior construction. It is a show which is nice to participate in, nice to invite your customers to…”

Evgeniya Shmyryova , student (Moscow)

“When you participate in an exhibition, you feel how its whole organism functions. And when you participate in an exhibition not for the first time and you have an opportunity to compare, then you can make certain conclusions. So, resuming CHAPEAU-2006 results I can easily say that the level of events conducted at the exhibition has grown significantly, and as a participant of “Future of CHAPEAU”  contest I would like to express my thanks to the organizer – KORDON company. At this exhibition a new creative tandem of a well-known photo artist Sergey Filatov and designer of exclusive knitted hats and accessories Evgeniya Shmyryova (which is me), was born.
 I would like to say a great “thank you” to the vigorous, positive organizing committee of CHAPEAU-2006 who serves as “oil” in this exquisite and elegant, but at the same time very effective “machine”. I would like to wish CHAPEAU to keep the professionalism level growing as steadily as it has been doing so far, so this wonderful cultural event for many years would keep gathering true connoisseurs of art and attract more and more people to the world of beauty, which they are capable of creating themselves if they are filled with energy of a beautiful festival…”