Olga Panteleeva is not just a designer, but a true creator in the world of headwear. Her journey into the profession began in childhood, when the creative genes she inherited from her ancestors fully manifested. As a member of UNESCO and a representative of the International Association of Milliners in Russia, she has reached the heights of professional mastery.
The master has behind her studies at the Russian Economic Academy named after G.V. Plekhanov, advanced training courses at the Paris school ES MOD, the creation of unique collections for prestigious events and international forums. Her works adorn fashion shows, theatrical productions, and private collections of fashion connoisseurs.
In this interview, Olga reveals the secrets of her craft, shares stories of making unique hats, and tells how a simple piece of fabric turns into a true work of art. We will talk about the master’s creative journey, her vision of fashion, and how a hat can become the main accent of a look.
1. Why do you think a hat can become the main accent of an outfit?
Olga Panteleeva: When you put on a hat, you instantly stand out from the crowd. People notice you, you almost seem taller, and at the same time, you express your individuality and uniqueness.
- What can a hat say about you?
- You are stylish, bold, even daring.
- You are not afraid to be the centre of attention.
- You do not care about others’ opinions.
- You are an interesting personality… and so on. In any case, you are certainly not a grey mouse.
By the way, even for the “grey mouse” type, there is a special hat.
2. Tell us about your approach to creating collections. Do you draw inspiration from historical models or do you create completely new forms?
Olga Panteleeva: I often say: “A designer thinks with their hands.” It’s really true. Sometimes you take a piece of fabric in your hands, start twisting it – and suddenly a new hat is born. It’s almost like meditation: you dive into the process and get carried away by the creative flow. From little boxes and drawers come beads, feathers, lace – and around you begins a real dance of materials for the future hat. You look around – and it’s already morning! Someone might look at this abundance and say: “What a mess you have.” But it’s not chaos; it’s exactly the dance of the right elements for the next hat.
When I finish one project, I always tidy up – otherwise, I can’t start the next one. There must be order both on the work table and in your head.
Inspiration can come from anywhere – even from a fly buzzing by. Just look at their transparent wings and big eyes! Why not take that as an idea? Recently, I was inspired by a pink flamingo with its flexible neck.
Do you know the legend of why flamingos are pink? They say these birds sacrificed themselves for people: they would pluck pieces from themselves to feed hungry children and adults, and their feathers turned pink from the blood. Then they flew away to warmer lands, but when they returned, their feathers remained pink – to remind people of their sacrifice. Isn’t that inspiring?
3. What materials and unusual finds most often become the basis for your masterpieces?
Olga Panteleeva: Sometimes people call me “the hat madwoman”, “the quirky milliner”, and some even affectionately – “the hat fairy”. That’s really me!
In any shop – hardware, household, or haberdashery – I always look at things and think: could this be worn on the head?
I recall the words of Marina Tsvetaeva: “Oh, if only you knew what rubbish poems grow from” – you can’t even imagine what some of these amazing hats are sometimes made from.
I have a hat made from a salad bowl, from a flower vase, from a silicone funnel for water. Once I asked my colleague Anna: “Anya, what’s that made from?” – she replies: “A black condom!” – then added: “Just joking!” But even that wouldn’t surprise me.
Every milliner has her secrets. Our favourite women’s psychologist, Natasha Tolstaya, said: “Panteleeva could make a hat even from a passing butterfly” – and it’s true, I actually have a headpiece made from real butterflies.
As for shapes – I like when everything can be detached, changed, so things can light up, spin. One hat – four ways to wear it. There are folding hats, and sometimes I sculpt the shape myself from plasticine or expanding foam. I love everything to be movable, modular, dynamic! We come from the USSR – for us, creativity is everywhere.
4. What is the secret to creating hats that become true works of art?
Olga Panteleeva: Don’t get attached to the result or financial rewards, the important thing is to trust your Muse. There are no rules in creativity: you make up all the rules as you go along and can change them as you wish. You are the creator – and the rules are yours.
For example, Millinery hats were originally made only by hand – simply because there were no sewing machines at the time. It was not accepted to use glue, only handwork, since there were no glue guns either. Now, technical progress moves creativity forward, new tools appear – invent your own rules, or better yet, manage without them altogether. Listen to yourself and create in the flow. But there is something that’s always important – neatness, sophistication, quality of execution.
5. How do you see the future of hat fashion? What trends will be relevant in the coming years?
Olga Panteleeva: People are becoming bolder, and it’s important to “nurture” young people, instil a love for hats, pass on knowledge, share experience, be a role model for them. I teach a lot, and in June, a big three-day master class is planned. Soviet power once dressed women in headscarves – it was more convenient to work in them at machines, but that wasn’t the end. Women left the machines and went on to adorn the world.
6. How do you combine the creative part with business processes? What challenges do hat designers face today?
Olga Panteleeva: You may not know, but besides working as a designer, I also lead the fashion theatre at the Gazprombank School, organise events and shows. I really enjoy creating celebrations for people and bringing them emotions.
7. Your family has a rich history of creative traditions. How has this influenced your professional path?
Olga Panteleeva: At that time, it was almost impossible to enter an institute to study design, so I chose the Plekhanov Academy and became an economist.
I worked for 29 years as deputy director of a trading company; together we built a plastic production plant. But creativity was always nearby: I sewed hats and clothes at night, took part in competitions and shows instead of going on holiday.
But we always brought hats from different corners of the world, and at our dacha, my father even made a “hat tree”, where after each trip new pieces would appear.
If you look deeper into the family history, my great-grandfather, Ivan Petrovich Panteleev, born in 1855, was known as a spinning wheel craftsman, lived in the Kaluga region, in the village of Polotnyany Zavod. From their house, to the right and straight ahead – to the estate of Natalia Goncharova, wife of Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin.
My great-grandfather was friends with Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky and made spinning wheels that were considered the best, even compared to French ones. His spinning wheel was recognised as the best at the international exhibition of that time.
“Piece of cake! Anyone can do it!” – that’s exactly what I thought as a child, when people told me how well I’d sewn a dress or made a bag, painted a picture or woven macramé, made a hat or composed a poem.
I always thought it was easy – a piece of cake, anyone could do it. It took me nearly 40 years to realise that, no, not everyone can.
Olenka’s Story
Little Olenka’s mornings always started early; she woke up before everyone else because she had so much to do. In her grandmother’s room hung beautiful curtains—heavy and sturdy; her mom brought the fabric for them back from a business trip to Algeria, and the material was decorated with bright yellow flowers.
Olenka dreamed of having a skirt just like that. And one morning, while everyone was still asleep, she took big scissors, carefully moved the little chairs closer, and cut off the bottom of the curtain so no one would notice. Of course, her mom noticed, but she said, “That’s Olenka sewing.”
By then, short curtains were already hanging in every room, including the kitchen. Mom said the same thing when Olenka’s cotton tights ended up with fancy cut-out holes.
Later, Olenka made herself a short fur coat out of her mother’s karakul fur coat—even at five or six years old, she knew a thing or two about fashion trends.
From her sister’s crocodile leather school bag, she created a purse with a sable’s face and bead eyes.
Even as an adult, people would stop Olya in the subway to admire her creations, and she would always say, “Piece of cake, anyone can do it just like me.”
Olya made a skirt out of her father’s foot wraps, a school uniform out of military fabric, and if she didn’t like her shoes, she would cover them with velvet and decorate them with chains.
At eight years old, Olenka supplied the entire Intourist Hotel with her macramé necklaces, made from her father’s plumbing washers—folk art at its finest!
At sixteen, she sewed dresses for her classmates’ mothers and a wedding dress for her sister’s friend, and she kept saying, “Piece of cake, anyone can do it.”
Now, as an adult, I am grateful to my mother for not scolding me, but letting me experiment. She didn’t praise me for the million things I ruined, but she didn’t get angry either—she never killed my desire to create, cut, saw, and destroy. Now, grown-up Olenka cuts acrylic glass for a new hat, searches for the right wire at the hardware store. Everything comes into play; every little thing she finds can become a muse for a new hat masterpiece.
And my sister jokes, “You’ll wake up one morning and all the curtains in your house will be short!”
8. Do you remember your first independent project? What was the hardest part?
Olga Panteleeva: My first independent project was in third or fourth grade: I made macramé for guests of the USSR at the Intourist Hotel. A neighbor worked there and sold them as folk crafts for three rubles; she would give me one ruble.
I was sick and homebound with nothing to do. I took leftover threads from my mom, washers from my dad’s plumbing, and screw nuts—just started making, tying, and sewing. I never thought someone would pay for it, but “business took off!”
9. How do you deal with creative block? Do you have any special inspiration rituals?
Olga Panteleeva: If you want inspiration to return, just sit down and start creating. Everything else will follow. Trust yourself and don’t pressure yourself; we’re not robots—if it’s not happening, it’s just not the right time. Sometimes it’s best to take a break: for example, my student and I once spent four hours searching for our Muse, switched to another hat, made it—and then inspiration came back. Some ideas can hang unfinished for years and then suddenly come to life in a single day. The main thing in creativity is not to get stuck. If it’s not working—switch gears.
10. What advice would you give your 16-year-old self, just starting out in fashion?
Olga Panteleeva: Take part in everything you’re invited to. The nineties were a time of huge opportunities, and you were too cautious. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes or lose. Every competition is a point of growth and new horizons, whether you win or not. Very often, those who didn’t take first place end up with even more opportunities than the winners.
11. Olga, tell us what upcoming projects your fans can look forward to?
Olga Panteleeva: On November 28, 2026, there will definitely be a new hat contest and a Hatmaker’s Day—in a very beautiful location. At the end of June, we’ll organize a big off-site hat-making course: three days of mastery out of town, in a cozy cottage, where you can go through the “hat alphabet” from A to Z.
We’re crazy hatmakers, we can do absolutely anything!
In spring and summer, there will definitely be a traveling exhibition in France from the International Association of Milliners. There are also international fashion tours planned: in March—to Baku, in August—to Cappadocia, and to South Africa as well. There are some major projects in the works, but I can’t reveal the details yet. Two of them, actually!
I’m the kind of person who, if I don’t feel inspired, can easily walk away from something. But if a project is born in one breath—it’s mine. When it’s your thing, the whole world starts revolving around you: the right people appear, events fall into place like puzzle pieces. Creating and launching projects in the flow is a real pleasure. And there’s so much more ahead!
12. What message would you like to send to MosFocus readers?
Olga Panteleeva: “You have to stir life often, so it doesn’t sour.”
My advice is—don’t be afraid to change things. If you feel annoyed—change! Your husband, your job, your profession. Life is an amazing adventure; just let it happen. And also: if something comes easily to you, it doesn’t mean it’s just as simple for everyone else. It means that’s exactly what you should be doing.
And don’t be afraid to be different from everyone else. Because you are unique and one-of-a-kind!
Photogerapher Julia Mihaylova