The Art of Hat-Making: Italian Craftmanship from the Cervo Valley

Cappellificio Cervo is to the world of millinery what the analog camera is to the world of photography: a place of return to fine art and inimitable craftsmanship.

It is the artistic integrity of this historic institution dating back to 1897, that photographer Giovanni Previdi has documented so beautifully in How to Make a Hat. This book takes its readers on a journey through Italian fashion history - hat-making history, to be exact - and all through the lens of his SX-70 Polaroid camera.

Previdi spent several weeks following the ins and outs of the company’s hat-making process, focusing his camera on the ritual of seemingly simple gestures at the hand of makers whose craft was honed over generations. All this, in the picturesque Cervo valley of the Biella province, where the pure water plays an important role in the making of both ordinary and high fashion hats as seen in Hermes and Vuitton collections.

Capturing the essence of the textures and color intensities found in the natural fibres used to create unique pieces, The book reflects on the importance of reembracing quality and durability to counter the global fast fashion, like his Polaroids, Previdi highlights the art of patience and perfection to confront conveyor-belt philosophies.

Based in Bologna (Italy), Giovanni Previdi is a bookseller who discovered his love for photography upon purchasing his SX-70 Land Camera on eBay. Intrigued by the idea that an instant photo is not reproducible, he shoots most of his work on an instant or film camera. His photos have appeared in Italy’s biggest newspaper, Corriere della Sera, the official Polaroid Book (Chronicle Chroma, Los Angeles 2021) and Vogue. . Several of his portraits were displayed at the ImageNation International Photo Exhibition in Milan (2022).