Churchill Downs has trademarked the Kentucky Derby as “The Most Exciting Two Minutes in the Sports.” But in the words of Louisville-born Milliner Mary Julia Kaiser, “It’s not a two-minute moment for Louisville, it’s a citywide season.”
Schools were cancelled on race day Friday, restaurants were denounced, hotel prices have skyrocketed, and the industry of wearing thrilled hats is doing beautiful and laborious work. For those in attendance, the Kentucky Derby is more than just a race.
“People are planning their Derby outfits like weddings,” says Jenny Pfanenstiel of Formé Millinery. “It’s not another day at a normal event. It’s the Kentucky Derby!”
“Derby is a different kind of audience sport,” says Today Show Style correspondent Zanna Roberts Rassi.He returns the guest editor for the Kentucky Derby Style Guide. “It’s an explosion, a celebration of self-expression, an optical feast.”
Its optical feasts are prepared by many local and international artisans who gather to create annual Derby fashion. We reached out to them and learned about the culture surrounding this unique sport. And of course, to get an internal scoop on the biggest fashion trends of the year.
“It’s not just fashion. It’s about people.”
The Kentucky Derby maintains a small but thriving community of artisans.
“There’s a microeconomic environment that lives in this event,” says Gigi Barris, who runs Millinary Atelier in New York City. Last year she made a hat worn by social media A-Lister Alix Earle. Barris is educated at the Parsons School of Design in both New York and Paris, working with top brands and fashion designers to provide hats to celebrities such as Rihanna, Lady Gaga and Madonna.
Alix Earl wore Gigi Bliss’ designs at the 2024 Kentucky Derby (Photo: Daniel Bozzarsky/Getty Images for Churchill Downs)
However, on a call with her, Barris deliberately shifts focus from craft to craftsman. “Milnelly is a dying trade and there are less and less resources to develop talent as an industry,” says Barris. She says the ancient tradition of master craftsmen passing on knowledge to young apprentices is exhausted. “We could lose these intergenerational skills.”
Jessica Chikli, owner of Louisville-based Hathaven, is a designer who benefits from such traditions. Making her hat is a skill passed down from her mother, like a living heirloom. She witnessed the Kentucky Derby evolved from a local event to the international sights of today. Schickli continues to bring our conversation back to Derby’s local roots: the history she weaves into her hat.
“I have the remaining jockey silk hats among them,” she says. She tells me when I’m in town to not miss a trip to Wagner’s pharmacy.
Tony Wilson Browder is a local Milliner designed by Tony Leon, whose “Hat and Horse” roots have returned to his pedigree. His grandfather, Robert C. Caldwell II, was a horse trainer recognized in the “African American Records in the Oral History Project of the Equine Industry.” Wilson Browder remembers growing up in Georgetown, Kentucky, working with his grandfather on a horse farm and falling in love with horses. He loved the hat his mother wore in Pentecostal churches.
“In my curiosity, I’m an Aquarius, so I’ll break down her hat and put them back in another way,” says Wilson Browder. “She loved it and I fell in love with Milinoly.”
Now he runs a hat-wearing business with his husband of eight years.
Tony Leon actress Angela Bassett will design a hat for the 2014 Kentucky Derby. (Photo: Gustavo Caballero / Getty Images)
Patricia Standard has incorporated apprentices into her hands and in her neighborhood. Educated at the Academy of Art University, her professor is known as “Mysterious Styles” thanks to her peculiar designs. She opens a shop called Crown By Standard on Rugguard Road in Louisville, and welcomes young people in her neighborhood who are interested in learning from her.
“Though they may not want to be Milliner or textile designers,” Standard says.
Louisville native Mary Julia Kaiser is a nurse practitioner and mother of six, and recalls Derby Week from her kindergarten days. She says that she “falls on my lap” with a hat on her. She says she went to the Derby event and was overwhelmed by the hat she ordered from Amazon. So she “dressed it up.” When her sister recommended that she open an Etsy shop in 2017, it grew from there.
In 2024, today’s Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager wore hats inspired by Kaiser’s bouquet. Now she is one of the Derby featured milliners along with her company, Derbilo Guy.
“It was Joyley,” says Kaiser. “The next moment.”
Diana Herron is another local local who saw the handicrafts of celebrities. The owner of Derby Diana, Heron’s business grew through word of mouth until it landed on the path of celebrity stylist Ryan Christopher, designing the hat for Olympic and World Champion track and field athlete Sana Richards Ross.
“These events [like the Derby] It supports the local economy in the sense that a truly niche craft industry depends on this. “It’s more than just fashion, it’s about people.”
Meanwhile, as Barris says, these artisans rely on the business of “first Saturday of May,” while the success of the Kentucky Derby depends on these local artisans. It is a partnership that is as natural and sturdy as the woven fabrics and sinamai that form the Derby hat.
We asked, they answered: Top Trends for the Derby of the Year
Last year’s trend was influenced by the release of Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter album and the Barbie film. So we asked the experts: what can we expect this year?
1. Pastel, pastel, pastel
The first trend for all designer lips: “Pastel”.
“Pastel again? Groundbreaking,” says Roberts Lassey with a laugh, referring to the much-loved quote from “The Devil Wears Prada.”
But the pastel, Roberts Lassy, quickly fixes, but they are classics because they are so versatile. She emphasizes she is looking for “cool pastels” such as blush pink, pistachio green and butter yellow. The popular colour palette after the pandemic shutdown was vibrant, bright and almost saccharin. However, the hot pink, influenced by “Barbie,” disappears due to its soft shade.
“Pale pink is the hottest colour,” says Pfanenstiel.
2. “Evil” whim
Move “Barbie”! The pastel trend is probably thanks to the blockbuster film Wicked. The wardrobe of Ariana Grande at Smash Movie Musical includes a variety of soft pastels, but most iconically blush pink.
“I think we should definitely thank our ‘evil’ sisters,” says Roberts Lassey. “Fairytale aesthetics and how to dress Cynthia [Erivo] And Ariana [Grande] It had a major impact on the red carpet. ”
Find all the green shades on the spectrum, from flash pinks, foam hems, whimsical floral prints, veils, and pistachios to neon. In the spirit of Eribo’s aesthetic, I turn to the unique nail art on the ground at Churchill Downs.
Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande (Photo: Amy Sussman / Getty Images)
3. Old Hollywood
Check out the Golden Globe Thread Carpet in January. Old Hollywood glamour is back. Think about it: a huge skirt and hairstyle with long opera gloves from the 50s and 60s, vintage dresses from the 50s to 60s, ball gowns, dramatic drapes, soft lines, waves and boophant. Wilson Browder describes his favorite trends as “classic, timeless, and less.” One of his biggest influences was Jackie Onassis.
Zendaya is a 2025 Golden Globe actress. (Photo: Amy Sussman / Getty Images)
4. Pattern watch: Polka dots and floral patterns
Florals are constant in the Derby, but Roberts Lassey describes this year’s flower trend as “wallpaper flower prints.”
“Imagine a live Southern bouquet on your head,” says Kaiser. “People ask, ‘How does it stay in your head?” ”
And speaking of the old Hollywood style, Polka Dot is back!
Photos of the 2025 Kentucky Derby Style Guide (Andrew Kung Group)
5. “Dandism”
The day after the Kentucky Derby, Starr walks the Met Gala red carpet. This year’s Met Gala theme is “Superfine: Tailing Black Style,” inspired by Monica L. Miller’s 2009 book, “Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Idente.” Colman Domingo – his elite, known for theatre, Dundeeization Red Carpet Style – Co-hosted alongside $AP Rocky, Pharrell Williams and Anna Wintour’s Lewis Hamilton, co-chaired by Lebron James.
“Everyone should bring all the dandies of it,” says Roberts Lassey. “Don’t be afraid, bring the theatre, bring the persona, bring the square in your pocket, bring the cane! If this is not an opportunity to do that, when is it?”
Photos of the 2025 Kentucky Derby Style Guide (Andrew Kung Group)
6. Masculine monochrome
For those who go with masculine styling that is not ready for dandyism, monochromatic colour is a trend in time. Traditionally, men have mixed prints to match for Derby, and have combined a lot of colours, such as blue suits, pink ties and yellow shirts. This year, men will be in monochrome thanks to celebrities like Timothy Chalamett and his head-to-toe buttery yellow Oscar look. Roberts Lassey says the key here is to get everything in, with a complete, monochromatic look, including tie, shirt, and shoes.
Timothée Chalamet is taking part in the 2025 Academy Awards with her mother, Nicole Flender. (Photo: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)
7. neutral. No, really!
When thinking about Kentucky Derby, and generally the style of the South, neutral often doesn’t come to mind. However, this year, designers say neutrals are in high demand. Burris develops his collection with Woodford Reserve, featuring all neutrals, allowing you to wear a hat in a variety of looks. She says she focused on neutrals such as taupe, cream, cocoa and soft beige.
“Neutral is something that clients can hear again,” says Barris.
Photos of the 2025 Kentucky Derby Style Guide (Andrew Kung Group)
8. Architectural shapes and fantastic hats
“I call the style ‘swirl cinnamae and fork bouquets’,” says Kaiser. “A lot of geometric, architectural pieces with swirling fabric manipulation are on sale this year.”
(Photo courtesy of derbyologie)
9. Seafarers and charming
“The attractive trends continue to be swept,” Kaiser says. “I think 90% of what I do is appealing.”
She points out that the charming ones she points out are small, not equal. They are very large and can “have a lot of impact and drama,” but there is no hat head. Most of the designers I spoke to in Points with the Royal Royal Family of the British, and Princess Welsh, also known as Kate Middleton, were influenced by the driving behind the fascinating trends. But this year another classic hat is rising: Boater.
“We’re going back to a more classic style,” says Roberts Lassey. “Boter styles have been so popular this year, with Kate Middleton wearing more sailors and Melania Trump styles.”
Catherine of England, now Princess of Wales, will be speaking to Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Wellby in 2022 with her daughter Princess Charlotte.
10. Travel beyond tradition
Heron says he loves to play with fresh designs and bold takes, beyond the traditional Derby look.
“For me, I learn a lot from Nigerians. They have great Milliners. I love watching hours of YouTube videos showing things that go a long way, like making leaves, putting up a series of feathers, rounding flowers, and more.”
Ultimately, they all encourage them to just ask for it. Though this year’s color palette is soft, the spirit of derby fashion remains one of self-expression.
“People get very brave in the Derby,” says Roberts Lassey. “My best advice: You will do you.”
The standard is, “Personally, I don’t follow the trend. I don’t even look back at the old designs because I don’t repeat anything. I get all the supplies, put them in front of me, and come to me with the designs.
“The truth is, you never meet someone in a bad mood wearing a hat,” says Kaiser.
(Photo above: Illustrations: Dangold Ferb/Athletic, Formerly Millenary, Leandro Lazada, Jessica Ren Vaughn, Andrewkan Group)
