2023.08.02

The Future of Hat Making as Imagined by Nobuki Hizume, a Japanese Artisan who Mastered Top French Techniques

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French culture, from base to peak, is supported by diverse and solid artisan craftsmanship. Among these artisans, the "MOF (Meilleur Ouvrier de France, an award for France's Best Craftsman)" is awarded by the nation as a testament to the highest level of skills.

MOF, a title initiated in 1924, recognizes over 230 professions through a test conducted every four years. It is bestowed upon artisans with high-level skills, capable of inheriting France's cultural techniques.

Nobuki Hizume, who works as a hatter in Paris, was awarded the MOF as a hat maker (precisely, a "Modiste: lady's hat manufacturer") in 2019 at the young age of 39, becoming the only Japanese person to receive this honor.

PROFILE

Nobuki Hizume

Hat Designer. Graduated top of his class from the Apparel Design department at Bunka Fashion College in 2004. He moved to Italy to present his collection. After returning to Japan, he manufactured hats and headpieces for local and international stages and musicians while simultaneously unfolding his activities as an artist under "NOBUKI HIZUME". He moved his base to France in 2009 and has been crafting hats for numerous Paris collections of luxury fashion houses. He established a company, "JBK," in 2018. He obtained the Maître d'Art, France's Best Craftsman in May the following year, and launched his hat brand "HIZUME" within the same year.

A person with zero hat-making experience is recognized for their sense of style.

"I almost never wore hats by choice," he says. "The only hats I wore were the red and white ones for gym class in elementary school. That's how much I despised hats."

In early July in Paris, with a cool breeze intermittently flowing in from the courtyard, an unexpected response came from Hizume at his atelier located in the 11th arrondissement of Paris. "I didn't think hats suited me," he says, laughing casually.