ABOUT SANDY ASLETT

Sandy Aslett Milliner wearing a designer headpiece made from feathers at the Sofitel Girls Day Out

I design and handmake customised, one-off headpieces and designer headwear from my boutique millinery studio on Queensland’s beautiful Sunshine Coast.

My obsession with style started at the tender age of five when I first began making my own dresses it may not have been catwalk quality but, hey, I was 5 and it looked great to me! It was to be the start of a lifelong love of dressing up and expressing myself through fashion.

In 2009, after a long career in dressmaking and fashion retail, (and inspired by the fact I could never find a hat small enough to fit me!). I decided to turn my hand to millinery. I’ve always been fascinated by the way in which a headpiece can completely transform an outfit and lift the mood of the woman wearing it. Whether it’s a hat, a fascinator, hatinator or a crown, I like to think of every piece as wearable art.

My designs are made to be noticed – that’s why I always tell clients to wear it like you mean it, with a spring in your step and a cheeky smile!

SANDY ASLETT DESIGNS

I learned my craft studying under some of Australia’s finest milliners. They taught me the importance of sleek lines and how to achieve that perfect fit. I find inspiration everywhere. My ready-to-wear range takes its cue from the elegant, vintage designs of bygone eras. What I’m most inspired by, however, are passionate clients who have a vision of how they want to look and allow me the artistic freedom to bring that vision to life. Creating everything from colorful and flamboyant race day hats to subtle and sophisticated cocktail party headpieces or romantic bridal headwear. I love collaborating with a client to create a customised piece of headwear that perfectly reflects their own personal style.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

Sandy has exhibited her bespoke hats both Nationally and Internationally to great acclaim.

In 2018 Sandy entered the HATalk Hat Making Competition and was challenged to create an original hat or headpiece using the concept of Fusion as the starting point of the design. Her design “Cosmic Concertina” won the Global Award in 2018 Overall HATalk in London from over 177 entries.

Sandy has competed in the 2018 Great Hat Exhibition with her inspired design “Kakadu Lily”, which was chosen in the Top 30 from 250 entries. Sandy was also a finalist in the Top 10 for 2018 & 2017 MAA Design Awards and a finalist in 2017, 2019, 2020 & 2021 at the Melbourne International Millinery Competition (MIMC).

Over the course of her career Sandy has won countless Fashions on the Field and Millinery Awards for her designs. She was also one of just 8 international milliners invited to exhibit at the Burjurman Centre for the Dubai World Cup.

Sandy's designer headwear is regularly featured in the international millinery 'bible' The Hat Magazine, and her creations have walked the runways at Melbourne Spring Fashion Week for the last six years in a row.

Recent award highlights include:

2023 - Royal Queensland Show - Winner Millinery Masterclass & Best Exhibit in Millinery

2023 - The Hat Magazine - Hat of the Month

2022 - Myer Fashions on the Field Lillian Frank AM MBE Millinery Award Competition Finalist at Flemington Racecourse & Victoria Racing Club

2022 - Royal Queensland Show - Creative Art & Craft Millinery - 3rd Prize - Brimmed Hat

2022 - Royal Queensland Show - Creative Art & Craft Millinery Masterclass - Highly Commended

2021- Melbourne International Millinery Competition - Top 20 Finalist - Nite Moves

2021- Royal Queensland Show - Millinery Masterclass - 3rd Prize - Galactic Lilac

2020 - Melbourne International Millinery Award - Top 10 Finalist- Encapsulated

"Cosmic Concertina"

2018 Overall Global Award HATalk London

2022 Myer Fashions on the Field Lillian Frank AM MBE Millinery Award Competition Finalist & 2023 The Hat Magazine Hat of the Month April & 2022 Malvie Magazine

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

2022 - Malvie Magazine
2022 - Myer Fashions on the Field Lillian Frank AM MBE Millinery Award Competition at Flemington Racecourse & Victoria Racing Club
2022 - Australian Women's Small Business Champion Awards Finalist
2022 - Women In Business Brisbane nomination
2022 - Royal Queensland Show- Creative Art & Craft Millinery - 3rd Prize- Brimmed Hat
2022 - Royal Queensland Show - Creative Art & Craft Millinery Masterclass - Highly Commended
International Overall Winner of the 2018 HATalk competition
Top 30 Great Hat Exhibition in London for London Hat Week
2021- Melbourne International Millinery Competition - Top 20 Finalist - Nite Moves
2021 -2021 Royal Queensland Show - Millinery Masterclass - 3rd Prize - Galactic Lilac
2020 - Melbourne International Millinery Award - Top 10 Finalist- Encapsulated
2019 Entrant HAT FESTIVAL Category- St Catherines organized by the Chapeau-Caussade Association
2019 Top 10 Finalist Melbourne International Millinery Competition (MIMC) with "Andromeda"
Best Millinery Award Runner Up 2019- Thoroughbred Events Australia
Royal Queensland Show- Creative Art & Craft Millinery – 2nd Prize- Wearable Art Headwear
Qld Representative for the Millinery Association of Australia Inc 2019 2018 & 2017 including Vice President
2018 Hattember Competition (A Challenge to Remember)- 2nd Prize - Headpiece category with "Dawn Blush"
Collaborated with Karen Millen Australia for 2017 Spring Designs.
Collaborated with fashion label Tulipani for Mercedes Benz Fashion Festival
Personal invitation to attend a reception at Government House Victoria with The Honorable Linda Dessau AM Governor of Victoria & Judge Anthony Howard on the eve of Melbourne Cup
My hats have crossed the globe from Royal Ascot to Flemington
A regular participant at the International Millinery Forums to expand my personal & professional development
After trekking from Queensland to Melbourne for Melbourne Spring Fashion Week for several years, Hats by Sandy A (Sandy Aslett Milliner) has won the People’s Choice Award for Hats off to MSFW several times.
During the years of collaboration between the MAA, Collins Street Precinct & Hats off to MSFW, I won the ”Judges Choice Award” on several occasions for my excellent display of millinery during Fashion Week in The Block Arcade

ASSOCIATIONS & PARTNERSHIPS

Sandy is currently a member of the Millinery Association of Australia Inc including ongoing support for Queensland milliners. Previously she was a Queensland representative for 2019, 2018 & 2017 and former vice president of the Millinery Association of Australia Inc. Sandy is also at the forefront of the latest techniques and design trends and uses her studio as a teaching space for up-and-coming milliners to learn their craft.