OUR STORY

In 2010 designer and textile artist Rhian returned to study a part-time HNC in Millinery at Leeds College of Art as a mature student. It was one afternoon a week and taught us all of the traditional millinery techniques as well as business modules and design.

One of the later modules was about sustainability and Rhian began to explore the local textiles industry within her home region of Yorkshire in the North of England. It soon became apparent that much of the local textiles

Her final project was called ‘Can you still make a Flat Cap in Yorkshire? a tongue in cheek question which developed into the seed of an idea for a business. While researching the question Rhian discovered that the majority of the flat caps she found were either Made in China or Bangladesh. 

How can you possibly know the provenance of a cap made so far away and surely we must be able to make something with less carbon footprint nearer to home?

So KM Headwear was born

Since the official launch online in 2013 KM Headwear has become the brand of choice for customers looking for unique, high quality British made headwear. Our designs offer substance and style! 

'My Scottish Jamaican dad always wore a at cap, but rather than traditional brown or green it was bright red or lemon yellow .worn with a bright shirt & contrasting trousers. He always looked funky even when wearing his golf gear.  I loved the idea of taking something conventional and giving it an edge like he did. 

My Mum also moved back to Trinidad when I was 15 which gave me the opportunity to connect further with my Caribbean heritage, I was heavily involved in making carnival costumes there which is a skill I have used in my costume design and now headwear career. You can see the influence in the designs and colour choices.

I love to bring together the vibrant colours from my carnival days and create exciting designs around a classic Yorkshire style of hat’     

KM continued to gain popularity throughout 2015-2020 with celebrities such as Idris Elba, Anthony Joshua, Musicians such as Rizzle Kicks and Leanne La Havas and even HRH King Charles all owning KM Caps. KM took an office at Yorkshire Mill AW Hainsworth one of the premier cloth makers in England. This allowed us to have a customer facing showroom , gain many opportunities and increase exposure. We had 3 years at Hainsworth until the pandemic hit.

As with many small businesses KM had a difficult time re-stabilising after the pandemic and it really took a lot from our reserves personally and commercially.

We spend most of 2023 deciding whether to continue after a tricky few years , having lots of tough reflections and conversations with loved ones and customers. We have made the decision to re-introduce a few of the classic styles such as The Drifter with a view to building KM back to its previous position.

Rhian’s oldest son who is now 23 and already has a great entrepreneurial mind and experience is looking to come on board in 2025 so we are in a transition of him learning the ropes over this year. He will be a great asset to KM and has some fantastic ideas of where we could take the brand going forward.

Onwards and upwards…