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 has given out the "22" fedora hat to a lucky fan every night of her tour, she also gave one hat to Selena Gomez's younger sister. Tamez shared with Access Hollywood that Swifties send her letters about how much they love Swift's hat.

Celebrity Hats 
Kendall Jenner has a GTM hat named and designed for her called the "Kenny," which has become a cult favorite. Beyoncé used Tamez's hat designs for her Super Bowl XLVII halftime show. Notable rapper Future was deemed "Lord of the Brim" on the cover of GQ Magazine for his wide array of GTM hats, which he also used in his "Stick Talk" music video and throughout his album DS2. Katy Perry wore a bespoke GTM pillbox hat when meeting Pope Francis at the Vatican with her husband Orlando Bloom. Pop star Dua Lipa featured Tamez's cowboy hats prominently in her "Love Again" music video. Becky G performed with Peso Pluma at Coachella in a bespoke cowboy hat in 2023. Sia uses GTM hats as a signature over her iconic split blonde and black wigs for performances. Anahí from RBD wore a custom sparkly pink cowboy from the group's sold-out tour for her iconic Sálvame song. Shakira wore Tamez's custom designs in her music video for El Jefe with Fuerza Regida.

Gladys Tamez Millinery's flagship bespoke atelier is located in Downtown Los Angeles in the Arts District, where Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid are known to frequent.

Notable clients 
Tamez is also associated with celebrities including Pop icons Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Madonna, Shakira, Johnny Depp, Jay-Z, David Bowie, Kim Kardashian, Alicia Keys, Cher, Janet Jackson, Salma Hayek, Jennifer Lopez, Cindy Crawford, Travis Barker, Jane Fonda, Demi Lovato, Future, Lil Nas X, Ariana Grande, Sia, Kylie Jenner, Kourtney Kardashian, Khloé Kardashian, Erin Wasson, Kate Upton, DeAndre Jordan, Joe Perry, Neil Young, Beck, Emily Ratajkowski, Nicole Trunfio, Queen Latifah, Neil Young, Hailey Bieber, Nathalie Kelley, LeBron James, Vanessa Hudgens, Kelly Wearstler, Blue Ivy Carter, Rosalía, Maluma, Ringo Starr, Beck, Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B, and Gigi Hadid.

Personal life 
Tamez resides in Los Angeles.

References 

American milliners
Mexican women fashion designers
American women fashion designers
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Designers
Los Angeles