Some straw hats possess the sort of charm usually reserved for women in Luca Guadagnino films and elderly Englishmen buying apricots at village markets.
This is the case for our summer edit from Suz Berlin. Handwoven in Berlin, each is shaped slowly by hand using traditional millinery techniques and natural fibres, with references that wander from folk costume to modernist dance and sun-faded European resort towns.
Rather than relying on embellishment, Stein focuses on form and proportion, shaping each piece directly in three dimensions using techniques rooted in traditional Italian and Swiss straw work.
The Circus Hat arrives with a pleasingly theatrical striped crown and ribbon ties that flutter about in the breeze, while the Mount Hat feels a touch more alpine picnic. The Dahlia styles open dramatically at the brim like the flower itself — one trimmed with deep green, the other with long striped ties that feel vaguely Riviera train station.
Then there is the Wosto Hat, all slightly rumpled elegance, and the Treaty Hat, whose sharp dark band gives it the air of somebody who definitely remembered to pack olives, cigarettes, and a paperback.
Regardless of which style you choose, each is well suited to disappearing to the beach, reading under an old oak, or walking through town looking slightly more interesting than everyone else.
Based in Berlin-Kreuzberg, Suz Stein works almost exclusively with handwoven wheat straw braid, transforming a centuries-old technique rooted in Italian and Swiss millinery into objects that feel strikingly modern. Her approach is guided less by decoration than by structure — each hat shaped sculpturally by hand, with an attention to proportion and material that reflects years of deep craft knowledge.
Alongside her own practice, Stein has collaborated with figures including Jean Paul Gaultier, Christian Lacroix, and Robert Wilson, while continuing to teach and preserve traditional hat-making techniques through workshops and education. Her work carries the romance of old-world craftsmanship, filtered through a distinctly contemporary sensibility.
