Teressa Foglia is a successful milliner to many top celebrities including Gerard Butler, 49, Ashley Graham, 31, and Jamie Chung, 36, just to name a few, but being in the hat industry is not something that she always had her sights on, in fact, it was just a hobby before it turned into her career. “I took a hat-making course and then was apprenticing in Berlin — it was just for fun though,” Teressa, who just opened up her first store in Malibu earlier this year, told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY. “When I took the course, I really loved it, it was really fun. I loved hats and had been wearing them pretty much my whole life and just wanted a new creative outlet. My background is in social and digital, so it was really nice to get off my computer and my phone and just make something.”
The term “make something” should not be used loosely with Teressa and her hats, as she specializes in ready-to-wear, bespoke, and her specialty, custom hats. Customizing a hat with Teressa is super hands-on, as you get to actually meet up with her and pick everything from fabrics to colors to finishing touches and details as she works with you from start to finish to create the perfect hat for your face structure. “A lot of people come in and they say, what hat do you think would look good on me?” Teressa shared. “We’re such big believers in the matter of perception of what’s coming from the inside, radiates what’s coming from the outside. So it’s truly how someone feels that will make or break how they feel in a hat. It’s like wearing a bright color for the first time and you’re feeling a little uncomfortable about it. Our recommendation is to really change the perception and then put a hat on that you love and that’s where you start to feel good. It’s all about proportion and the right crown to the right brim size. It’s all about how the person feels in it, too.”
Though Teressa has a massive resume of people she designs for, when it comes to her celebrity following, she quickly figures out what it is they’re looking for. “We just went off of knowing and seeing his style throughout the years or just something that he would gravitate towards or something that we would just love to make for him,” Teressa said of styling for singer John Mayer, though seeing her creations come to life is really her favorite part. “We have a dear friend, Mena Massoud, that we love making hats for. He was just Aladdin and it’s been really fun being able to create a hat that was Aladdin themed for him. It’s really fun because he loves being a part of the process and he’s very creative. For us, we love making hats for our best friends, and that’s what’s really cool because there’s no greater feeling than just meeting up for dinner and seeing your hat being worn by one of your best friends.”
If you’re not in the LA area, you’re in luck, as Teressa sells her hats online as well as in her flagship location in New York City. Her beachwear line starts at $275 while certain custom hats can go upwards of $1600 if you want to include things like embroidery and custom painting. No matter what you’re looking for, though, Teressa makes it known she knows exactly what she’s doing. As for what hats we can expect to see as we head into fall, Teressa teased, “I would say right now everyone is asking us for more neutrals,” Teressa says. “Our most popular color for fall is a soft ivory color. I just think a lot of people are looking for interesting details and something different and more unique. We tend to stay away from the longer brims. Obviously, the oversized trend has been happening for a few seasons now and most people are looking for a shorter brim. Just something that is very versatile with one pop of something that stands out and makes it unique. I don’t find our hats to be too trendy as much as they’re classic and just unique in a way.”