Ahead of the Galway races we check out the new style trends with milliner Valerie Smith

With the Galway races kicking off next week and the RDS Horse Show just around corner, Goss.ie sat down with stylist to the stars Valerie Smith ahead of the busiest season for hats and fascinators.

Valerie Smith is fast becoming a household name in the world of millinery here in Ireland. Born in the UK, Val considers the Emerald Isle her home and it’s where she wants to see her millinery company flourish.

Before coming to Ireland, Val was a personal shopper in Selfridges and even got to style the power couple that are the Beckhams but reveals that the now established designer, Victoria needed very little help with her wardrobe.

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“I was tasked with styling none other than David and Victoria Beckham! Now, even back then, before she became the icon that she is today, Victoria was a woman with her own ideas and style, and needed no help from me, so it was obvious to me that if she took the leap into the Fashion world, she would be hugely successful,” she revealed.

The blonde designer has a degree in Fashion/ Textiles at what is now Manchester Metropolitan University and spent much of her years working in costume design and styling following her University days. 

But it was in 2011 after she attended the Lina Stein’s millinery course in Westport that she realised she had found her calling. 

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“I really caught the bug, and decided to specialise,” she told Goss.ie.

Now that the racing season is well and truely upon us, Val opens up about this seasons must haves in head designs and what inspires her quirky and fun pieces.

“I like to take inspiration from past eras or style icons such as Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, the “Hitchcock Blondes”, and so on, and bring the style up into the 21st century with modern technology and fabrics,” she said. 

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“There is a wealth of inspiration we can feed on from past eras; and my theory is that there is actually nothing new under the sun in the fashion arena; only an innovative, fun, creative modern approach to well-loved styles from history, ancient and recent,” she revealed. 

Val doesn’t just make pieces from scratch, she also likes to rejuvenate and redecorates aged and plain hats, giving them life and a unique edge.

“There is nothing quite so satisfying as taking Grandma’s old hat, languishing on top of the dresser, and turning it, Cinderella-style, into a fabulous 21st century piece of gorgeousness,” she explained. 

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The milliner does of course make bespoke pieces for her clients and says the Bunty is very popular with the jockeys wives and race-goers.

“A lot of the pieces are made from scratch in the classic way, the quirky knitted pieces, for example, which are necessarily unique but yet can be re-made and manufactured to order in preference of colour, feature, and so on,” she revealed. 

Valerie Smiths business name stems from a nickname given to her by her late dad and is now becoming a well known name in fashion circles.

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“Bunty Bombshell is a lifetime’s nickname given to me by the Late Lamented and Dear Departed Dad, mad as a box of frogs himself, on account of my high-energy attention-seeking as a small blonde nuisance,” she added.

Val is currently working on her website BuntyBombshell.co.uk but a selection of the pieces are on Etsy.com under the name www.etsy.com/BuntyBombshell.