India's only hat maker Shilpa Chavan talks about her semi-autobiographical creations

All my creations are at war between modernity and nostalgia," says India's sole milliner, Shilpa Chavan. Her hats, headpieces, masks and accessories — best described as avant garde and frozen psychedelia — are like puzzles for audiences to solve.

On February 16, Chavan will dig into her old collections to showcase masks progressing into headpieces as part of a design trail for the ongoing India Design Forum (IDF) in the city. Her collection that shows the glamourisation of war, Feral Nation, has horn- or beak-shaped animals and gas masks featuring sequins and feathers; Madness of Muchness, on the lines of Alice In Wonderland, features optical illusions to symbolise hiding one's identity; and Disco Denimals mashes denim with imagery of the '80s discotheque era.

Her semi-autobiographical creations draw attention to self and society. "My fantastical hats are a canvas for my stories and dreams," says Chavan. For instance, Grey Matters, reflects her transition from India to London, referencing Madras check sarees, dandy bush-shirt blouses in Katori block prints, with headpieces made from vintage brocade saree motifs.

Despite their complex appearance, these hats don't need much conceptualising, "because the ideas flow naturally. I might notice a shape on the street or a wallpaper in a film and decide to repeat it," reveals Chavan, adding that rubber slipper thongs, rangoli stickers, pinwheels, corsets, crowns and smithereens of Cobra beer bottles have found their way onto her headgears.

Chavan consciously uncouples her art and retail pieces. So for occasions, like the derby, she sticks to traditional floral-and-lace headpieces since "not everyone is comfortable with my outlandish pieces. She pays much attention to the finish of her makes. "People assume that embroidery is the only hand-stitched craft in India. But so are hats," she says.

Chavan's passion for hats started in 2009 when she attended Central Saint Martins and London College of Fashion, interning with Irish milliner Philip Treacy, who creates hats for Alexander McQueen and luxury brand, Givenchy. "Under Philip Treacy, I learnt about the right balance and finish from inside to the out."

'LittleShilpa' stuck on since her days as a stylist, a nickname this 4'11", 40-plus woman identifies with pride because: "I think big."

Working with paper-and-pen, she translates her ideas into a sketch, followed by a phase of sampling, to synchronise aesthetics, fit and finish. "There's no special gruel on how to finish a hat. But a host of things – weight, geometrics, aesthetics – can go wrong. Everything should be in conjunction with the other."

Her fascination for military uniforms and epaulette creations perhaps comes from her father being a cop and her science background. The 'discipline' since childhood works to bring method to her madness. "Otherwise, I'd want to put a 100 things on the headpiece."

Chavan works in absolute silence. "I talk to myself while sketching." The constant-thinker makes a conscious decision to cut out work, "by trying to watch half a movie everyday. It's been 15 years since I watched TV."

Currently labouring on an Autumn/Winter collection for the London Fashion Week, where she'll don the hat of a fashion designer, showcasing a unisex line of pastel streetwear, Chavan admits that flitting across fashion weeks and pop-up shops all this time left her little time to work proactively. "But now, I want to start an online store."

Chavan has already put out eight major collections, exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, biennials and London and India Fashion weeks. Lady Gaga has flaunted her hats, a multiple times.

"When I started out, people would say, 'there's no market for hats in India...' But when Steven Jones (his hats are worn by the British royal family) shortlisted me for his Headonism project at the London Fashion Week, 2010, it was my stamp of approval."