Gladys Tamez
Gladys Tamez (born in McAllen, Texas) is a Mexican-American haute couture milliner or hat designer. She is considered a preeminent milliner and arguably the most famous in America. She founded her eponymously named Gladys Tamez Millinery or "GTM" in Los Angeles in 2012. Tamez is listed in Forbes Magazine as one of the most creative Mexicans in the world. Her sculptural hats have graced the covers of Assouline, and she is a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America. Early life Born in McAllen, Texas, Tamez was raised inside of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico, and Monterrey, Mexico, in a family of Taurina bullfighters. Her mother, Elizabeth Tamez, owned a local bookstore called Tivoli, and at 10, she was reading Vogue. Tamez attended art school in Florence, Italy, where her initial designs were created. While traveling in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain, Tamez discovered a small hat shop run by four generations of milliners that inspired her to focus on hat design. Hat design inspiration Her creations are inspired by a range of sources from the Studio 54 era in New York City with Bianca Jagger and Cher, the architecture of John Lautner, and Mexican film stars Dolores del Río and María Félix. In an interview with Purple, she states, "Everything is handmade. I don't have machines to make four or five at once. I still make them with woodblocks. Handmade is an old tradition that I want to keep alive." Regarding her creations, Tamez told Flaunt Magazine, “You wonder who's going to wear it. It's the fantasy of imagining the life it will have. I always say, pick the hat that goes with you and not with your clothing. You wear the hat, the hat doesn't wear you.” ¡Hola! named her in the list of the Top 100 Latina Powerhouse creatives. Career Custom Hats Lady Gaga "Joanne" Hat Tamez is best known for her work with Lady Gaga, for whom she created the famous Joanne pink hat for the Joanne World Tour. Gaga personally called Tamez hours before the launch of her fifth studio album to share the news that Tamez's design made the Album cover. Gaga also wore GTM's "Lady Bianca" and "Lady Marianne" hats, inspired by Bianca Jagger and English singer Marianne Faithfull. Tamez also spoke to Vogue about how she designed a "Gypsy Rose Lee meets Bob Mackie" Swarovski Crystal hat worth one million dollars for Gaga's performance on the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. Gaga wore Tamez's designs for performances on Saturday Night Live (accompanied by Mark Ronson, BloodPop, and Hillary Lindsey, and hosted by Tom Hanks), The Late Late Show with James Corden, The X Factor UK, Alan Carr's Happy Hour, SMAP×SMAP, and Royal Variety Performance. Taylor Swift "22" Fedora Hat Tamez designed Taylor Swift's iconic fedora for the Red era in The Eras Tour, which received acclaim in People Magazine. CNN reported on Vanessa Bryant's emotional moment when her and Kobe Bryant's daughter received Swift's Tamez-designed "22" fedora GTM hat at her concert at SoFi Stadium. Swift