Ashley Lloyd received her BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2009.
Ms. Lloyd discovered how hats communicate ideas and designate status. From kings and generals to popes and religious penitents, headwear throughout history has separated the powerful from the masses, marked those who live on the fringes of common society, and even enabled the spiritual, like shamans, to transcend the earthly plane through the ostensibly simple act of donning a hat.
Ms. Lloyd draws much of her influence from reliquary collections she happened upon while studying in Italy. She found the contrast between decoration and decay captivating, and conveys that tension in her own work through the use of skin, skulls, insects, and taxidermy entwined or carefully hidden in an assortment of flowers, feathers, ribbons, and other traditionally feminine decorative items.
Ms. Lloyd, 24, is currently working on her own avant-garde collections while collaborating with photographers, stylists, and other designers on a variety of projects.
She currently resides and works in Brooklyn, NY.
Art Direction : Vava Marevicheff-Ignatenko