Type ‘fabulous millinery’ into the internet and the chances are that the name Joel Alexander will come up. Jenny Needham meets the designer in his new home in Darlington’s designer district

Milliner Joel Alexander finds inspiration for his amazing creations wherever he goes. “I am always looking, whether I’m in car, a train, a plane. It may be a shape from above, anything,” he says. His passion even interferes with his downtime. “If I’m watching a film or a TV series like Downton Abbey, I lose track of what’s going on with the characters. I am too busy looking at the costumes and hats,” he laughs.

And while he doesn’t really stick to a theme when he’s designing a new collection, Joel finds himself drawn to different influences at different times. “I’m very into Japan at the moment, Tokyo, Oriental influences, and trying to translate that into my designs. Whatever is in my head, really.”

Joel’s head has been full of fashion since his schooldays at Barnard Castle, where he studied textiles and where his talent for design was encouraged and nurtured. When he moved onto university in Manchester, he studied fashion buying and got to learn about another side of the business.

Gradually, in much the same way that, layer by layer, he embellishes a hat for a client, Joel added to his talents and as well as designing hats, began to “build” his own. “When I brought my first hand-block, hand-made hat home my dad was floored. He couldn’t believe I had made it,” says Joel. “But the job suits me. My creative talents have always been sculptural. I’m not a painter, I’m more 3D. It feels natural making things that way.”

Now, in the workroom of his colourful boutique at the heart of Grange Road, Darlington’s designer district, Joel collaborates with clients to find a hat base that suits their face and style and to help them choose from his rainbow collection of silks and gauze the colours that will match or complement an outfit. Then, finally, he will delve into his treasure trove of decorations to find the perfect trimmings to top it all off brilliantly. You want feathers? No problem. A bit more sparkle? Joel will bling it up for you.

“My feathers and decorations come from everywhere,” says Joel. “I have so many suppliers. I am very specific about what I buy and it’s got to be top quality. That’s how I like to shop - I am always turning things inside out when I go shopping to check the garment construction.”

And while his bespoke creations are not inexpensive, they will last. “I say to ladies if you keep this in a nice hat box, it will last for years,” he says.

Joel first went into business on his own in a studio on his parents’ property at Houghton-le-Side, near Darlington, and it was a family crisis that convinced him he could make a go of the business on his own. “Mum had a hat designed for my brother’s wedding. It arrived 48 hours before the event and, apart from the base, it was completely wrong,” says Joel. "Naturally, any woman would be devastated, wanting to look great for their boy’s wedding so I just said ‘give it to me’, I ran out to every haberdashers we knew. I quickly retrimmed it and luckily it had dried and was ready for the morning of the wedding.”

But while his parents’ home was a good base for a fledgling business, out in the country there was no footfall, so Joel recently moved to Darlington. He is full of praise for Grange Road. “I think it’s probably one of the nicest, if not the nicest shopping street in the North-East,” he says. “People come from a long way away to shop here. One regular comes down from Northumberland, and I even had a client from Birmingham. She said she typed ‘fabulous millinery’ into the internet and I came up, so naturally I was naturally very chuffed with that.”

As well, as hats of all colours and constructions, Joel stocks occasionwear. New labels include Social Occasions and John Charles, “who really wowed me this year”. Then there’s Tony Bowls eveningwear, crystal-embellished gowns redolent of Hollywood glamour, next to simple long black dresses that are all about cut and drape. As we chat, Joel points out a woman who had just walked in. “She won best dressed lady at the races in one of my designs,” he says. Clearly, the Grange Road boutique is becoming a destination for those who want stunning outfits for special occasions, from weddings to balls to a day at the races.

So can Joel find a hat to suit anybody? “Honestly, yes. Well, it might not be a hat, it might be a fascinator, but there is something to suit everybody. Some women want sparkle, others don’t. No two people want the same and my role is to help them find exactly what they want. That’s what I love about the job.”

And despite the rows of lovely clothing here, it’s obvious where his real passion lies.

“Clothes are clothes, but it’s the hats that really capture the imagination,” says Joel.

Joel Alexander, 37 Grange Road, Darlington, DL1 5NB. T: 01325-484410; W: alexanderoccasional.com