11 Facts About Simone Mirman

Simone Mirman was a Paris-born milliner based in London, chiefly known for her designs for the British royal family.

Simone Mirman had an apprenticeship with Rose Valois, one of the leading Parisian milliners of the 1920s and 1930s, where she developed her talent for designing hats to suit the trickiest faces, considering her first success to be a design which worked for her mother's features.

In London, Simone Mirman worked with the couturiere Elsa Schiaparelli, who was renowned for her bold millinery designs and concepts.

Simone Mirman headed the hat department of Schiaparelli's London branch in Upper Grosvenor Street, Mayfair until it closed down at the outbreak of war in 1939.

Each morning, they hid the evidence of their real life and transformed the attic into a millinery salon for Simone Mirman to serve customers seeking off-ration hats.

In 1947, Simone Mirman was able to afford better premises near Hyde Park.

Simone Mirman created fun versions of the 1960s helmet hats encrusted with plastic gems, and ultra-modern leather or plastic helmets with clear tinted PVC visors in 1966.

In 1952, after Princess Margaret reportedly decided that their usual milliner, Aage Thaarup, was too expensive, Simone Mirman was invited to Buckingham Palace to show her hats to Queen Elizabeth, her mother, and Princess Margaret.

Simone Mirman was later granted the royal warrants of Queen Elizabeth II and the Queen Mother in recognition of her services.

In 2003 several Simone Mirman hats were displayed alongside clothes worn by the Queen in an exhibition at the Kensington Palace State Apartments.

Simone Mirman retired in 1990 and returned to France, where she took up oil painting as a hobby until losing her eyesight.