Famous hats worn by stars including Beyoncé and Johnny Depp on display at Luton exhibition

A major exhibition featuring famous hats worn by the likes of Beyoncé and Johnny Depp has come to Luton.

Hats Made Me, presented by the Culture Trust, explores the significance of headwear and is the largest exhibition of its kind – featuring more than 200 hats and headwear from the Trust’s extensive collection.

The exhibition, staged at Stockwood Discovery Centre, features items from the world’s most celebrated fashion and performance milliners as well as 400 years of hats from the collection. The collection is divided into four reasons why people wear headwear – practical, symbolic, aesthetic and transformative.

Samuel Javid, Creative Director of The Culture Trust, Luton, said: “This is an incredible opportunity to see a world-class collection of hats and headwear. This is one of the largest exhibitions of its kind, pulling together practical and purposeful headwear, with wonderful and whimsical costume from stage and screen.

"This is a rare chance to see hats that defined an era, headwear that made a scene, and some special bits of pop-culture – like Johnny Depp’s pirate hat, and a space suit worn by Matt Damon.”

Stephen Jones OBE, who spoke at the exhibition's private launch on Thursday (April 20), was included in the collection with his intricate headpiece worn by Cate Blanchett for her Oscar-nominated role playing the monarch in Elizabeth: The Golden Age.

Other notable highlights of the collection include a red visor worn by Beyoncé in Vogue magazine and featured in a fan-made video of her song Cuff It - which has been viewed more than 11 million times, an ornate tiara worn by Madonna in her Dark Ballet music video, and a teal velvet hat donned by Kate Sharma in the Netflix hit show Bridgerton.

The collection, developed by the Culture Trust’s Curator of Significant Collections, Hat Industry & Headwear, Yona Lesger, also represents Luton’s own cultural history: with Vauxhall’s Miss Spectacular tiara, worn by the winner of a beauty pageant, uniting the hat and motoring industries. Durags, Irish Catholic communion veils, Ghanaian ceremonial pieces, Muslim prayer caps and Sikh turbans all feature in the exhibit.

The exhibition will be open at Stockwood Discovery Centre until December 10, and tickets can be purchased through the Culture Trust website.