Johnny Depp's Pirates hat stars in Luton exhibition

A town that was the centre of the British hat-making industry is to showcase the importance of its heritage in an international exhibition.

Hats Made Me, in Luton, features more than 200 exhibits, including a red visor worn by Beyoncé and Johnny Depp's Pirates of The Caribbean hat.

Samuel Javid, creative director of The Culture Trust, said it was "one of the largest exhibitions of this kind".

It aimed to show "how relevant headwear still is" and runs until 10 December.

Mr Javid said: "It's an incredibly big deal, not just locally, but nationally and internationally.

"This is probably the most ambitious thing we've done with our museum collections."

The exhibition, at the Stockwood Discovery Centre, will feature hats and headwear through the years and includes creations by renowned milliner Philip Treacy. The organisers are hoping for 50,000 visitors.

"We put together hats and headwear dating all the way back from 19th Century straw policemen's hats that were plaited together locally, to whimsical, wonderful costumes from stage and screen," Mr Javid added.

"It really is a collection that shows how influential hats and headwear are globally."

"This exhibition is a great nod to that heritage, but definitely a step into contemporary fashion, contemporary purpose, contemporary use, and demonstrating why hats and headwear are just a thing of the past in Luton, but how they're globally significant now."

Diversity will be celebrated, showcasing the town's different cultures.

He said Jewish prayer caps, Sikh turbans, Ghanaian head-dresses and Irish communion veils could also been seen.

They have come from its own collection and items donated by the community.

Yona Lesger, exhibition curator, said: "Luton really was the centre of British hat-making.

"In the second half of the 19th Century and start of the 20th Century, the highest percentage of people worked in the town in the hat industry, compared to any other part of the country."

In the early 1800s there were "400 factories all related to the hat industry", which also gave the town's professional football club its nickname of The Hatters.

Luton became known for its straw hats, as the material grown in The Chilterns was light coloured and more pliable.

"Until the introduction of Vauxhall in the early 20th Century, the hat industry was the reason that Luton was so prosperous and so many immigrants from across the world came to find jobs here," Ms Lesger added.

Mr Javid said Luton was still the place to come for a hat.

"Celebrities from all across the world come here, because the expertise is still here, going back generations and generations."

Mr Javid said manufacturers still remained in the town.

"It's now up to all of us to get excited by hats and wear them, to make sure these manufacturing skills continue."

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