Azu Vilas arrived in Lanzarote thirty years ago when she had just turned 20 from her native Pontevedra and always worked in hotels, first in housekeeping, then in billing and finally as an administrator, which was what she had studied in Galicia.
But for twenty years now, Vilas has combined her eight-hour job at the Teguise Playa in Costa Teguise with the creation of hats and headpieces full of art and fantasy, which have paraded on numerous catwalks like Cibeles and have been seen at the main horse races in the United Kingdom such as Ascot, the great global millinery event, or at the Palace of Westminster.
"When my brother was getting married, influenced by the headpieces I had seen in some television series, I made my first hat" and since then nothing has stopped her from creating some of the most impressive designs in the sector in our country.
Vilas first learned from her mother: “I am the daughter of a seamstress, my mother worked in Pontevedra for large boutique stores, so I have always had dresses made of very good materials at home”.
“I had always done crafts and handicrafts, but I hadn't gone into clothing because my mother made a living at the sewing machine and I didn't want that,” she explains.
However, she confesses that she often stays up all night to finish the pieces. "It is totally vocational, truly what is known as working for love of art”.
Unique, personalized, and handmade works in all their elements
In Vilas's work, everything is artisanal, made by her with her own hands, piece by piece. From the bases, to the design and creation of the flowers, the birds, the butterflies, and other magnificent adornments that nestle in her collections.
The love for art also serves as an antidote to the complications with the arrival of materials due to Lanzarote's double insularity: “Merchandise takes a long time to arrive, but vocation makes you get fully involved.”
Any of Vilas's hats, turbans, headpieces, bow ties, and accessories are fully personalized.
“It took me years to achieve it, but now I have very good clients, who value the work, value that the piece is totally artisanal and personalized, each person is different, with their own tastes and own style,” shares the artisan based in Lanzarote.
Vilas works in a small workshop in San Francisco Javier, "my neighborhood," which can be visited by appointment.
Among the materials that Vilas uses for her creations are above all sinamay, the fabric par excellence for millinery, extracted from plant fibers of banana trees, silk sinamay, in which it is interwoven with silk threads, and felt.
The milliner from San Francisco Javier also uses other materials such as feathers or sequins to give beauty and uniqueness to her designs on over 300 different hat blocks that she treasures in her workshop.
Vilas has already created numerous collections in the last 20 years. Some very linked to the island, such as the one inspired by the work of César Manrique.
Pieces in Cibeles, Ascot and Westminster
Vilas' creations have been featured in Oswaldo Machín's fashion shows on numerous international and national runways, and at Cibeles, accompanying Esther Noriega's dresses. They have also been showcased at the main events for millinery in the world, particularly the UK horse racing events such as Royal Ascot or Cheltenham.
“A headpiece of mine was also at the Palace of Westminster. A client went to collect one of the distinctions awarded by the British crown to citizens who exceptionally help their compatriots outside the United Kingdom.”
Vilas explains that traditionally her main clients were British in Lanzarote, but now there are also many Spanish women, especially for weddings: “it took a lot to take off, a lot, people didn't dare to wear anything on their heads, but after the confinement the style changed and now there are many more people who dare, especially when the weddings are off the island.”
The woman from Pontevedra also has pieces for men such as bow ties, ties, or shoes with feathers.
Vilas explains that she continues to train to stay up-to-date on the latest techniques for securing bases, very useful when the strong winds of Lanzarote blow, as well as new materials or stiffeners (product applied to fabrics or fibers to give them body, consistency, and stability).
The milliner from San Francisco Javier announces that she is preparing a collection to present in November, inspired by the large number of flowers that populated Lanzarote last winter thanks to the rains.