Julia Vilariño studied fashion styling and has been a milliner in training since 2018. She learned from master artisan Félix de Martín, a Galician milliner, with whom she completed several specialised courses, as well as a year of continuous apprenticing. “The craft is very broad, and he taught me to work with multiple materials, such as felt, natural fibres, horsehair, and with techniques such as classic millinery, hat-making, featherwork, fabric flowers, and dyeing,” she says. Julia has also taken courses with other professionals, including Denise Innes-Spencer, Susana Loureda, and jewellery-making techniques with Carla Alfaia and Zeltia Ao Aire. “One day, I went to take a basic course in making headpieces, and I fell in love with the craft. I would never have imagined dedicating myself to this profession. But during that course, I experienced a catharsis—I discovered a world I am passionate about. After rigorous training and countless hours in the workshop, I decided I wanted to make a living from it,” says Julia, who began this career in her late thirties. In 2022, she won the Eloy Gesto Scholarship Award.
Julia Vilariño
