The milliner Ángel Amor awaits you in his workshop in Bilbao
SOUL
October 2023
He has sewn garments worn by Emma Stone in ‘The Favourite’, Rachel Weisz in ‘My Cousin Rachel’, Cate Blanchett in ‘Cinderella’ and Angelina Jolie in ‘Maleficent’, as well as hats that have decorated the faces of Mila Kunis and Monica Belucci, among other stars. His name is Ángel Amor (Erandio, Bizkaia, 1965), an artisan and master craftsman who teaches hat making. You can find him in his shop-workshop in Calle Fernández del Campo, Bilbao
Amor did an internship in London with Stephen Jones, Dior’s very influential milliner. He also worked with Vivianne Westwood herself.
He worked for more than five years in Barcelona. In the team of dressmakers and designers of the international fashion firm for women, Javier Simorra; you can find the paper version of this magazine in the Simorra boutique in Bilbao.
In Fernández del Campo Street.
“I create tailor-made hats for ceremonies and also clothing for institutions,” he explains. “Hats have not been popular since the last third of the 20th century. There was a time when everyone wore a hat or a cap. But that’s the way it is, even though, apart from its value as an accessory, it protects from the rain or the sun. A hat always looks good on the wearer,” he stresses.
It takes him between one and three days to make a hat, depending on the complexity of the design. “I love the relationship with clients, understanding their character, their style, their personality,” he says.
His first couture for international cinema was a cape for Julie Taymor’s The Tempest, starring Helen Mirren and Felicity Jones; it was nominated for an Oscar for Best Costume Design. Since then, Sandy Powell, winner of several Oscars and BAFTA awards for costume design, has called on him to be part of the crews of various films. The collaboration began through another costume designer she met in Barcelona, who is Powell’s assistant.
“Working on a film is hard. It can be three weeks or up to six months. And it can be twelve hours a day without a break during weekends. This was the case for ‘Maleficent’, for which I didn’t compose the headdresses, but sewed the dresses and capes. Angelina Jolie was there every day, she arrived at five in the morning and was the last to leave. A great professional,” says Amor.
In Bilbao you can find a professional who has sewn for Angelina Jolie, Emma Stone, Rachel Weisz, Monica Bellucci and a handful of other top stars of the screen. And order a special hat from him – one just for you. One just for you. Could you imagine?
In Bilbao and Bizkaia, we call it Amor
“I am a great supporter of Bizkaia. I like the whole territory: the coast, the inland, the architecture, the landscapes… I have lived abroad for a long time, maybe that’s why I appreciate the way people are”, says Ángel Amor. And he adds that “Bilbao is a very clean city with a lot of cultural activity; anyone who gets bored in Bilbao does so because they want to”.
Among his favourite establishments in the city is “Ruiz de Ocenda, which could be in Chelsea”. He is delighted that “the Gorostiaga hat and beret shop in Casco Viejo is still standing, I learned a lot from the former owner and I used to study with his daughter”.
He hangs out in the pedestrianised areas of Calle Diputación, where there are lively bars and restaurants. “And, of course, I have to recommend El Contenedor, a very Berlineresque place in Conde Mirasol. You can have a drink, eat, buy hand-sewn clothes and also my own hats, which I make on classic models”.
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