May 01, 2026
A Crown Affair
Milliner Richard Shon ’76 creates iconic headpiecesby Rita Savard
Richard Shon doesn’t simply make hats. He makes statements—the kind that stop traffic at the KentuckyDerby and turn weddings into runway moments.
Feathers, flowers, and beading adorn hats and fascinators covering every surface behind him in his downtown Miami shop. Textures and colors beckon guests to come in and play dress up.
“Hats are fantasy,” he says. “They let people step into another version of themselves—even if it’s just for a day.”
Since the 1980s, Shon and his business partner and husband, Eliot Whittall, have been leading figures in the world of millinery. Whittall & Shon Hats are staples at horse racing's most prestigious events, including the Kentucky Derby, where headwear pageantry rivals the thundering hooves. Beyond Churchill Downs, Shon's creations—known for artistic flair and exquisite detail—have crowned movie stars, television personalities, and politicians.
Head Turners
Congresswoman Frederica Wilson (D-Florida), featured in the Netflix docuseries Worn Stories, calls her signature bedazzled Whittall & Shon cowboy hats a “first impression tool.”
“Even before you speak, people see you,” Wilson tells the film crew. “When you stand out in a crowd of policymakers, people pay attention to what you have to say.”
Shon has used art to tell stories since his Andover days, when he spent countless hours in the former artist studios on the Abbot Academy campus. He credits instructor Gil Sewall’s art history class with teaching him foundational critical thinking skills.
“Many teachers I encountered later—in my college years—did not encourage questions and often operated under the protocol that there was only one way—their way—to look at an image,” says Shon, who attended Stanford and later studied art in Paris. “My time at Andover remains formative. One of the best experiences of my life.”
After moving to New York City, Shon partnered with Whittall, and the couple’s work quickly became synonymous with American luxury millinery. Their hats were fixtures at Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom and, by the early ’90s, their business had become the largest nonunion shop in Manhattan.
In 1998, they relocated to Miami, where every Whittall & Shon hat is still handmade. Some creations have earned permanent places in Smithsonian collections.
In the era of fast fashion and fleeting trends, Shon finds joy in designing hats—with purpose and intention. “I don’t need to be the biggest name in the industry,” he says. “I just want to wake up, look in the mirror, and know I didn’t compromise myself.”
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