10 Feather Fascinators You'll Never Want to Take Off

From the Merve Bayindir atelier in London: ten hand-made feather fascinators, headbands and hats, the feathers behind them, and how to keep them looking as they did on the day.

Feather fascinators are the oldest trick in occasion millinery and still the most effective: nothing else adds height and movement to a headpiece without adding weight. But feathers are not one material. An ostrich plume falls and drifts, a burnt peacock quill radiates like a starburst, goose feathers can be trimmed into crisp blades, and rooster feathers arc in a single clean line. Knowing which is which tells you how a piece will move, how it will photograph and how it will cope with a damp afternoon at the races.

Ten feather fascinators from our atelier

One or more of each of the main feather families. Prices include UK VAT.

BRIAR FASCINATOR

£2,100

A pink and black button fascinator on a tall pink disc base, with long burnt black peacock feathers radiating outward in a dramatic fan and a hand-made black rose at the base. Burnt peacock at full scale: straight, graphic and visible from across a racecourse. Wear it high on the right or centre so the fan opens above the face.

VERNUM FASCINATOR

£1,100

A sleek navy button carrying extra-long, natural-coloured burnt peacock feathers that radiate from the centre like a starburst, with a cluster of multicoloured crystals at the heart. The natural colour of the burnt quill against navy is a quieter version of Briar's drama, and it works with navy, monochrome or crisp white tailoring.

AQUAEL FASCINATOR

£1,250

A turquoise layered fascinator in luminous sinamay, encircled by translucent rings of blush and powder blue, with delicate florals and airy ostrich feather accents on the crown. Ostrich here is used lightly, for movement rather than volume, which keeps the whole piece fresh and summery.

AESTAS FASCINATOR

£1,250

A soft pink button on a round base, circled by a single ostrich quill in a deeper pink that spirals up and around the crown. The quill has been stripped and curled by hand, so this is ostrich at its most sculptural rather than its softest: a line, not a cloud. Wear it tilted on the right for spring weddings and garden parties.

BARLESQUE HEADBAND

£800

A black sateen headband built around a single extra-long floating black ostrich plume, set with black crystals that catch the light as it moves. One feather, nothing else. It is the purest demonstration of what ostrich does, and it is a night-out piece rather than a daytime one.

WHISPERING WINGS HEADBAND

£700

A black velvet headband on a tall, sculptural form, across which arches a cascade of custom-trimmed geometric black rooster feathers in a single sweep, anchored by cut black crystal beads and softened by a widow-style veil that falls across the face. Trimmed rooster at its most precise. Black tie, evening and memorial services.

MOTMOT HEADBAND

£450

A cobalt blue headband in satin and straw that blooms into a spray of sculpted rooster feathers with hand-curved edges, like leaves moving above the head, anchored by a beaded centre. The curving is done by hand, feather by feather, and it is what turns a simple spray into a shape.

DARK PLUME HEADBAND

£500

A black velvet headband on a tall form, from which cascades a fan of black-trimmed goose feathers, each arching across the crown, their edges finished with clusters of crystal beads and cut black crystals at the tips. Goose feathers are firm enough to trim into precise edges, which is where this piece gets its graphic line.

AMELIE FEDORA HAT

£500

A light camel wool felt fedora with a softly pinched crown, a black grosgrain band and a bow shaped from pheasant feathers at the side. The striped pheasant brings a touch of the countryside to a clean, tailored shape, and it is the piece in this edit for autumn: point-to-points, country weddings and the first cold race meetings.

NYX HEADBAND

£300

A hot pink satin headband carrying two pom-pom clouds of marabou feathers in graduated candy pink and fuchsia. Marabou is the softest, fluffiest feather in millinery, and here it is used for fun rather than formality. Parties and informal celebrations, and the least expensive piece in the edit.

At a glance

The feathers milliners actually use

Ostrich

Ostrich plumes are wing feathers, long and full, and they drape and drift in a way no other feather does. Drabs are the shorter body feathers, giving volume at a lower cost. A single plume, as on Barlesque, is all the drama a piece needs. Ostrich is also the most sensitive to damp, which matters on a British race day.

Peacock, and what burnt means

Peacock feathers come from the male's train, which is moulted every year. The eye is the iridescent tip; the long quill below it is where most millinery work happens. Burnt peacock is not burnt at all. The soft barbs along the quill are removed chemically, leaving the stiff spine and its side branches, which also stiffens what remains. The result radiates in straight, graphic lines, which is why burnt peacock makes the starbursts on Briar and Vernum.

Goose

Goose is the workhorse of the atelier. Biots, from the leading edge of the wing, are short and stiff and often knotted or curled. Nagorie has a firm stem that holds its shape when stripped or trimmed and is small enough to curl easily. Goose is what we trim into blades and precise edges, as on Dark Plume.

Rooster

Rooster gives three different feathers. Hackles are the long, thin neck feathers; saddles grow in front of the tail; the long curved tail feathers, known in millinery as coque, can run to eighteen inches with a flexible spine. Rooster is what gives a single clean arc, as on Whispering Wings and Motmot.

Pheasant and marabou

Pheasant tail feathers are long, narrow and striped, with a sturdy spine; they suit autumn and country occasions. Marabou was once taken from the marabou stork; today it is turkey, and it gives the soft, cloud-like texture on Nyx.

How feathers are prepared

No feather goes onto a headpiece as it came off the bird. Every one is sorted, and most are altered by hand, which is a large part of why a couture feather piece costs what it does.

• Stripping pulls part of the vane away from the quill in one smooth movement, from the tip down, to thin a feather or expose its spine.

• Curling draws the underside of the feather across the blunt edge of a blade, pinched against the thumb, so it curves. Close, even pressure gives a tight, smooth curl; ostrich is often curled with gentle heat instead.

• Trimming cuts goose and rooster feathers into blades, points or geometric edges.

• Burning removes the soft barbs chemically to leave a stiff, graphic spine.

• Dyeing is possible because feathers are protein, like wool and silk, and take dye with gentle heat and mild acid.

Why food-chain feathers became the rule

In the late nineteenth century the plumage trade was killing wild birds in vast numbers for fashionable hats, egrets and birds of paradise above all, and their plumes were at one point worth more than their weight in gold. In 1889 a group of women in Didsbury, near Manchester, founded the society that became Britain's best-known bird protection charity, in direct protest. Its early members pledged not to wear the feathers of any bird not killed for food, the ostrich only excepted. Britain banned the import of such plumage in 1921, with the ban in force from 1922.

That pledge is still the principle occasion millinery works to. The feathers in modern headpieces come from farmed birds, goose, rooster, turkey and ostrich, and from peacocks, which shed their trains every year. Selling the feathers of most wild birds is against the law in Britain.

The Didsbury women's pledge, no feathers from any bird not killed for food, is still the principle occasion millinery works to.

Caring for a feather fascinator

• Keep it dry. Ostrich is the most vulnerable: in rain the flue clumps and droops. Carry an umbrella and take the piece off if the weather turns.

• If it gets wet, blot gently, let it dry naturally at room temperature and never use a hairdryer or radiator, which makes feathers brittle.

• Revive a crushed feather by holding it a short distance above the steam from a kettle for a few seconds, then stroking the barbs back into shape between your fingers, from the base upward.

• Store it boxed, in its box, away from direct sunlight, which fades feathers, and away from damp.

How our feather pieces are made

Every piece in this edit is designed and hand-made in our London atelier. Bases are blocked in sinamay or built on sculpted headbands; feathers are sorted, stripped, curled, trimmed and set by hand, then stitched in place so they hold their line and move as they should. Merve Bayindir is a member of the British Fashion Council, with pieces selected for the Royal Ascot Style Guide. Every order arrives in a custom box, with worldwide DHL Express shipping included.

Frequently asked questions

What feathers are used in fascinators?

Mainly ostrich, peacock, goose and rooster, with pheasant, turkey and marabou for particular effects. Each moves differently: ostrich drifts, burnt peacock radiates, goose and rooster can be trimmed and curled into precise shapes.

What does burnt peacock mean?

The soft barbs along the quill have been removed chemically, not with fire, leaving the stiff spine and its side branches. It gives the straight, radiating starburst effect.

Is it legal to use peacock feathers?

Yes. Peacocks moult their trains every year, and peacock feathers are widely traded. Selling the feathers of most wild birds is illegal in Britain, which is why millinery uses farmed birds and peacock.

What happens if a feather fascinator gets wet?

Ostrich in particular clumps and droops. Blot it, let it dry naturally without heat, then revive the feathers over kettle steam and reshape them between your fingers.

How do you fix a crushed feather?

Hold it a short distance above kettle steam for a few seconds and stroke the barbs back into place between your fingers, working from the base upward.

Find your feather fascinator

All ten are hand-made in our London atelier. Browse our full range of fascinators and headbands, our tall fascinator hats for pieces built on height, or our high fashion statement hats for the most dramatic feather work. When the date is close, our ready to ship pieces dispatch the next working day. Feather fascinators are chosen for their drama and kept for their movement, so choose the feather first and the colour second.