ABOUT BIJOU VAN NESS

Bijou Van Ness was created as an intersection between new and old, where timeless styles are given new life for today’s modern landscape. Made with impeccable craftsmanship in the United States, the line finds its audience in every woman who ever had a story to tell, or a secret to keep. Women can find a hat that expresses their inner diva, sweetheart, vamp, or debutante. A Bijou hat is a flair fundamental for the fierce and the feminine in all of us.

A THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLINER

Rehn Dudukgian's desire for adventure and love of Parisian culture were the first steps towards her inspired life. While completing a double major in Economics and Interdisciplinary French Studies at UCLA, Rehn decided to immerse herself in French culture by spending a semester abroad in France. While in Paris, she admired the beautiful classicism mixed with the chic modernity of Parisian couture through the boutique windows. As she wandered the streets, she unknowingly gleaned an education in the culture that is continually referenced in her collections. She discovered beautiful vintage silk and velvet from the Marché aux Puces, which would eventually make its way to her haute headwear. She later worked on her MBA at UC Irvine, but again, her creative wanderlust led her to study abroad at the National University of Singapore for a portion of this work. She traveled through Tibet, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, China, and Japan, in each place, collecting images and treasures that would become her millinery confections. She picked up silk from China, vintage brooches from Japan, and admired the large and beautiful hair accessories in a mountaintop village in Tibet. Upon her return, she had earned her MBA and gathered an arsenal of ideas.

After perusing her mother's vintage hat collection, which she often admired as a young girl, she was inspired to study the art of millinery. Her unique creations quickly took off, landing her in her first boutique shortly after. This thoroughly modern milliner continues the age-old art of the hat with the confident eye of a woman who knows where she has been and knows where she is going.