Anna Mikhaylova: ‘Every woman wants to feel like a queen’

“A hat is magic”

Anna Mikhaylova is a world-renowned hat couturier, a Guinness World Record holder, and the founder of the All-Russian movement “Beautiful Appearance”. She began her career as a hairdressing artist, reaching the level of an international-class top stylist.

“My path to hats was quite a long one. I originally worked as a craft teacher for boys, but I had always loved doing hairstyles and became a hairdresser — then a touring hairdresser who created entire stage shows with exaggerated hairstyles and unusual things on the head. Exactly 15 years ago, when I turned 38, I decided to throw a birthday party in the style of “38 Parrots”, and where there are parrots, there are feathers. That’s when I created my first hat — and two weeks later, my first collection was already out. I realised that hats are magic. After all, you can simply put on a hat — and you’re already a star. Just two years later, my collection was bought by a London showroom for the Royal Ascot races,”the couturier recalls.

The designer crafts her headwear from a variety of materials — straw, lace, fabric, feathers, plastic, metal, and more. Her creations have appeared on the stages of the Bolshoi Theatre, the State Kremlin Palace, at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, as well as at social events and horse races in Russia and Europe.

In 2002, the Guinness Book of Records recognised Anna Mikhaylova as the fastest hairdresser in the world.

“Setting a Guinness record was a crazy idea. By that time, I had already won many awards at various hairdressing championships. The next step was the Russian championship, but I realised it was a very corrupt affair. When I found out how much one had to pay to participate, I decided instead to set a record. That’s how the idea was born. At the time, the 300th anniversary of St Petersburg was being celebrated, and I decided to do 300 hairstyles. It was done in 12 hours — just like a regular working day for a hairdresser — with each hairstyle taking 2.5 to 3.5 minutes.”

Renowned designer Rustam Iskhakov also attended the meeting with his St Petersburg colleague. He first met Anna Mikhaylova in Almetyevsk, and later began communicating with her online through social media.

“It was in 2020, when we were all stuck at home. I subscribed to her page and was amazed by her work. Then the idea came to me — how wonderful it would be to do a collaboration, to have Anna’s hats complement my collection. I wrote her a message, but then deleted it, thinking it was too bold. But literally that same day, I received a message from her with the very same proposal. It was incredible. In 2023, I was creating a large collection called Total Black, a kind of black mystery, and Anna made hats for it specially. There were more than 20 pieces. All of her hats are pure magic and fairy tale.”

Starting in 2025, my shows have been held twice a year. Of course, hats had already been used in my looks before. But back then I didn’t yet know Anna, so I worked with other artisans. We do have talented milliners here in Kazan too, but no one does what Anna does,” Iskhakov says with confidence.

“Roosters in Russia never go extinct”

Mikhaylova is currently the art director of beauty salons and runs the business together with her friend. Hat-making is also a business, but it is not mass production — all of it is handmade, with each hat being unique, says Anna Mikhaylova.

“I do not want to mass-produce them. I am interested in giving a piece of my soul. Each hat takes at least three hours to make, depending on the complexity. I must admit, materials are difficult to obtain nowadays. I used to travel abroad frequently, and it was easier to find various materials when the borders were open. But with the pandemic, foreign travel shut down, and so did the business, one might say. The pandemic ended my foreign clientele, which made up almost 80%, so the business practically collapsed. Now, orders from abroad have dropped to almost zero. Only two or three regular clients remain. I am glad that I now find a lot of materials in Russia. For example, the feathers on this hat come from a Russian rooster, just properly trimmed. I often say that you can search for synthetic materials all you want, but they will never wear as well as natural feathers.”

“Currently, we have started producing a special bag for changeable shoes, which looks very presentable and is designed down to the smallest detail. The production is based in Kronstadt. Finding fabrics, zippers, and sliders for our bag is extremely difficult right now. Large sliders have disappeared across Russia. I don’t understand why they are so hard to acquire. We have to search and purchase in small batches. Most supplies come from China. Logistics have become very complicated," the stylist laments.

“Beautiful Appearance”

To popularise the wearing of elegant headwear, the couturier created the movement “Beautiful Appearance," aimed at reviving the evening dress code. Ladies don their finest evening outfits and hats and collectively attend theatres, creating a genuine sensation. In 2022, the St Petersburg tradition turned into the All-Russian campaign “Beautiful Appearance," and by 2025 it had become an All-Russian public movement. On the eve of International Women’s Day, more than 10,000 women in 100 cities across Russia and other countries stepped out in style.

“Every woman wants to feel like a queen. I have been creating hats for decades and I know how a small hat on the head can turn the most ordinary day into an event. I would like my movement “Beautiful Appearance” to gain even greater strength, and for the younger generation to also pay attention to headwear. I am confident that hats are made not only for mature women, but also for young girls. They are often still afraid to wear them, but already love trying them on. That is why I have begun making new accessories that look harmonious even with a simple T-shirt and sneakers. This is becoming relevant because now we can choose both comfort and elegance. Most of the time you can wear jeans and sneakers, but for the theatre, a museum, or meeting friends, allow yourself to dress up. You can even keep a hat in your bag and take it out when needed. The first time, you just have to dare. If you love accessories, if you want to be a star, if you want to work on yourself, a hat will help you.”