Garden & Gun Article: Meet the Mardi Gras Hatmaker

February 07, 2023Maria Etkind

A New Orleans milliner followed her dream after a mentor said,
“Don’t let the thinking get in the way of the doing”

In the hazy late-night hours, Maria Etkind talks to her hats.

But there’s no “mad hatter” here. Rather, Etkind, a milliner based in New Orleans, knows herself well enough to wait until morning to make a final call about a problematic hat. “We’ll see about you tomorrow,” she’ll say. As she sleeps, the harsh judgment often disappears. She says: “Almost always, in the morning, it’s beautiful again.

categories Press

Elsa Schiaparelli Exhibit

October 10, 2022Maria Etkind

This past Fall I was fortunate enough to travel to Europe with my mother and sisters. We had a wonderful time visiting London, Paris and Italy. While in Paris I knew I had to stop and see the Elsa Schiaparelli exhibit which was being held at The Musée des Arts Décoratifs.

Elsa Schiaparelli was an Italian fashion designer who collaborated in the 1920’s and 1930s with members surrealist painters and artist like Salvador Dali, Jean Cocteau and Man Ray.

The exhibition Shocking! The surreal worlds of Elsa Schiaparelli, on from 6 July 2022 to 22 January 2023.

Elsa was a prominent figure of haute couture at the same time as Chanel. In this exhibit I was able to see costumes, accessories, jewelry, perfumes, drawings, paintings and sculptures as well as photographs, and of course hats!

Elsa loved using imagery of stars and planets and in 1937 she created a Zodiac inspired collection that included Lesage embroidered jackets and capes. Her work was surrealist inspired as well as theatrical.

Today the House Schiaparelli has been revived by Daniel Roseberry he is American fashion designer. His reinterpretations of Elsa’s surrealist imagery and jewelry have brought the house back to life.

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Gay Easter Parade in the French Quarter

April 18, 2022Maria Etkind

I had another fun Easter Sunday in the French Quarter. This year I wore a vintage pastel watercolor 70’s outfit with matching handmade feather flower straw fascinator. I watched the Gay Easter Parade which marches down St. Ann st. in the Quarter at around 5pm. The costumes were amazing as usual! I met some friends and had a few cocktails while we waited for the parade to roll. I also bumped into the Easter Bunny, talked briefly to Jesus and met a man from Houston with a very erotic handmade hat. All I can say is he knows how to work the bias! New Orleans is truly a fun place to live!