Renowned for blending understated silhouettes with flamboyant flourishes, Prudence has taken inspiration from the decayed grandeur of the gardens at Sissinghurst, the country retreat of Vita Sackville-West, for Lock Couture Spring/Summer 2017. Noticing how a vase of wilted peonies looked all the more beautiful for their faded splendour, Prudence envisaged a tempest-ruined, flora-filled Sissinghurst when conceiving the nine-piece range, titled The Creation of a Garden.

Layers of cloud-grey silk tulle form one hat with sepia tones achieved through staining with the golden blossoms of Earl Grey and earthy buds of English Breakfast teas. A veiled floral head cage comes flushed with crushed peonies and roses; a black wide-brimmed style is deliberately crumpled, as if diminished by rain; and a solitary flower languorously adorns an asymmetric rollback hat, moulded from a wooden block, based on an original given to Prudence that once belonged to the late Queen Mother’s milliner.

The new Lock Couture collection is available online and in Lock & Co. Hatters on St James Street, London.