SIMON AND MARY

The Simon and Mary brand is self-described as “a heritage brand for a new generation”. While Simon and Mary was established in 2014, the brand was born from a family that has been in the millinery industry since 1935.

Their Johannesburg factory fashions new designs from classic shapes made with the same trusted machinery used in the 1960s by machinists who are passing the trade down to their children.

The heritage narrative is the golden thread which winds its way through the concept and the execution of the Simon and Mary brand. Their playful designs reference everything from classic Western silhouettes like the cowboy hat to the European pith helmet, now updated in jewel tones and pastel felt.

By marrying modern, local colours and historical silhouettes, Simon and Mary pay homage to the metropolitan, urban history of Johannesburg on a continent which has seen many hats traverse its wooded hills and grassy plains.