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One day Isabel Terroso decided to put the world by montera and change her job as a naval engineer for luxury millinery for Dior and Chanel. Today, the exclusive designs of his firm, Balel Luxury Hats, eclipse Philip Treacy. Literally, because one of his hats, the one worn by Queen Letizia at the Coronation of Carlos III, has been the most elegant of the ceremony.

Since the Queen appeared with Balel's hat, an exquisite piece made of sinamay with pink vintage veil, a tsunami has hit the life of the designer, who is currently making her way in the United States.

"I thought the hat would be liked, but I didn't imagine this. I've been congratulated from Sky News, Vogue France... many people have told me Olé! I didn't think the difference would be so noticeable, but yes. Everyone has realized how different this English-style hat was, which is what everyone usually wears and what has been seen once again in London, "she tells us excitedly making a gap in the agenda; Since Saturday his phone has been smoking.

"I did not count on this impact, but I am happy, delighted, because the Queen has shown in a tremendous way the message that I always try to convey: if you hit your head very well, something happens that you multiply by 300 any style, it is like magic. There is a lot of difference between wearing something very successful on your head and simply wearing something on your head. It's very different, and she knows it," he explains, while stressing that Doña Letizia is "absolutely charming. You work super well with it. Now he has been animated with something much bigger than what he usually wears, he has dared with a very powerful design. " And the result has been ten.

GTRES

It was not the first Balel hat chosen by Queen Letizia; she already wore a headdress of the designer during the Thanksgiving mass for the Duke of Edinburgh in Westminster, a green, small, hairnet design. "It was a private event that was not broadcast, so it had a different impact," explains Isabel Terroso, "it was then that the Queen met me and knew how I worked. He really liked my feminine touch, it is a very flirtatious teardrop headdress, with a last that is used a lot in England, but that I have taken to the French chic terrain".

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Another of Balel's star pieces is the montera joya, which she reinterprets masterfully and which are now revolutionizing the United States, as they have done before in France. "They cause a tremendous sensation," he says. The last to wear this iconic piece of Isabel Terroso's repertoire has been the bullfighter Cristina Sánchez.

The Coronation Hats

As an expert, we asked her who else stood out at the Coronation of Charles III. "Of headdresses I loved Kate Middleton's, which is not a jewel tiara, but a millinery work because they are leaves made with silver silk threads and crystals, and it is an exquisite and very beautiful work. It was what I liked the most by far. The rest, it seemed to me again the same, a lot of English style and nothing that attracted attention. "

And to whom do we put a 'but'? "From a certain age, very small things, diadems and bows seem to me a very dangerous terrain; Although it is a matter of taste, it does not fit me, "he answers.

Antonio Heredia

Discovering Isabel Terroso, Balel

"Everything round is expensive," says Isabel Terroso, the hatter who from her workshop in the central Claudio Coello street in Madrid overshadows the great masters of millinery, not only Philip Treacy, but also Stephen Jones. But his pieces, handcrafted and exclusive, are not so expensive if the hours of work, the materials of the highest quality and the result are placed on the scale: authentic works of art that some of his clients even exhibit in showcases.

Her first job was for Dior, thanks to what she, an engineer, defines as "a whole chance of life". After seven years working in the military shipbuilding sector, Isabel put the world by montera, one of the headdresses that most claims at the moment, and decided to take a radical turn. He didn't know what he wanted to do, but he did know that it wasn't his thing, so he took a leave of absence that changed everything.

But how do you go from naval engineering to luxury millinery? "It's a world that has a lot of architecture, a lot of engineering...", she explains, and that she always liked for herself. " There were millions of bags and shoes, but no hats." So he decided to do a basic millinery course, for entertainment, from which a leaf-shaped beret emerged. His first work and the origin of Balel.

Antonio Heredia

He went for a walk with her and was stopped by a lady. "Where has that beret been bought. I come from London looking for something I can't find," he recalls. Isabel then worked in her kitchen, between the washer and dryer, using the ceramic hob when she needed more space. But his interlocutor worked for Dior, and the firm began to order pieces. Also for Chanel.

"They asked me for specific headdresses for their clients. I would take my things, put them in a hat box and go there." So until they encouraged her to open her own atelier, after passing all the 'exams' with a grade. And Balel emerged, her 40s-style sewing atelier, which owes its name to the way she chattered her name when she was little.

Regaining glamour

For Balel, who learned from the person who made Valle-Inclán's hats, this piece makes a difference. "My grandfather always wore it, in fact I have it saved. And I also remember my grandmother: when I saw her put the needle on, she would enter another dimension. The hats are magical, there is something in it that attracts a lot of attention, in who wears it and who sees you, when you are touched they treat you differently. A different courtesy and kindness comes out, which is missing today. It opens doors that you didn't think of. One hat makes the other more gentleman and you more madam."

That's why he wants to claim it as a piece of everyday life, along with a coat or a jacket suit. "It gives you a class that needs to be recovered," he explains, "they are basic pieces that change a wardrobe completely and that empower: if it is the right one, the person comes up, like a Hollywood diva, if not, she will be uncomfortable, like with bad shoes." Because the lack of quality and good taste is also doing a lot of damage: "the line between wearing something right and making a fool of yourself is very finite," he warns.

Antonio Heredia

How to wear the hat

Who wears the hat well today, who can we be inspired by? Kate Middleton, is the queen of millinery, takes them very well. In general, you have to look at the English. Camila Parker Bowles also chooses them very well, she knows how to play with them to take advantage, she wears spectacular pieces that make you forget everything else. The Queen of England became a character with a hat and Lady Di's niece, Kitty Spencer, also knows how to wear them, she puts on small shapes that enhance their beauty. How do you wear a hat? To the eyebrow and fallen forward. Although the way you wear it depends on your personality, I see many hats very badly placed, backwards and that show the hairline. That is not conducive. A hat tilted and slightly forward indicates a sophisticated personality. And what is it that you never have to do, the big mistake when it comes to wearing a hat? The first thing to keep in mind is the height and that the wings should never exceed the size of the shoulders. A short person better choose wings upwards, let you see, otherwise it will be very uncomfortable. And it is advisable to have a clear face. With very curly hair you do not have to wear something very close to the head. In general, he wears a hair that is not intended for millinery. If you had to choose a wardrobe hat, what would it be? The fedora, which allows you to go to a wedding as well as to take a walk. You can add many details depending on what you want it for, and change the curvature of the wing to give it a different shape every day. It is the female version of a male hat. Also the berets are wardrobe background. And what is the most suitable for a shy person or someone who starts in this of covering the head? A simple, clean hat with basic lines. The first thing is to find a way with which you feel favored. The most important thing is to prevent the person from going 'under a hat'.

A hat for every occasion

Antonio Heredia

In his workshop there are headdresses and hats from 500 to 3,000 euros, the price that implies a unique, exclusive type of work, although in Spain it is difficult to make it understood. "It seems that in the head it is not worth investing, but it is a mistake, because the millinery has to be expensive, if not, it is not well done," he insists.

She never works with wool felt, only with beaver hair, a material "very ancient, of the highest quality, waterproof and that does not wrinkle, with which the capes of the coachmen were made in 1800 in Madrid," she explains.

It's the first thing that makes the difference. But not only, also the lasts and centuries-old techniques he uses. The first, very difficult to find, he obtains them in antique dealers or orders them to luthiers. "I like clean and refined lines, I'm not a fan of putting four feathers and three bows Philip Treacy style. He is number one in technique, but his style has been copied ad nauseam. We need a quality millinery with its own style," he says.

Who are your sources of inspiration? Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, Maria Callas... The classic does not have to be boring, it can be reinvented, and there are forms that sweep. Now glamour is lacking.

Antonio Heredia

Balel avoids talking about trends and defends "elegance and sophistication", two concepts in which the montera, his latest passion, fits undeniably. "I see her in a suit jacket, with a dress by Dior or Chanel, you don't have to pigeonhole her in the typical flamenco dress. My dream is to see Rosalía with her on a red carpet," he says. At the moment, his monteras triumph in Japan and Paris, "because the French are pure sophistication".

They are not his only international references, many of his best clients come to his atelier from Moscow, Los Angeles, London ... "I also have a lot of clients with cancer. When they put on a good turban, it changes their posture, they become empowered again."

How do you see the future, what are your plans? I have so many... My dream is to have a shop on Avenue Montaigne in Paris. I would like to find the necessary financial support for this, a patron to help me open doors, so that I can dedicate myself only to making hats.

Another of his great dreams has already been fulfilled: to see Queen Letizia with one of his headdresses, "who but a queen can be dressed as a queen?"

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