How she does it: Rosanna Stafrace
Artist and stylist ROSANNA STAFRACE inherited her passion for art and fashion from her mother, who taught her how to make her first hat. Driven by her free and colourful spirit, she took hat-making to a different level. She talks about her creative journey, lessons learnt, and how she built her brand ‘La Rossa’ inspired by her fire-red hair – a reflection of her vibrant passion for life.
How did this all start?
My mother, Connie Stafrace, was a milliner and owned a boutique. Since I was a child, I was always observing her work – especially since I was the eldest of four children. I was her shadow. To me, seeing her work was mesmerising.
She was always into fashion. She even modelled and represented Malta as the ideal woman. She was very good at sewing also. She would take on projects and make hats. It would have been a pity not to use her talent.
How did you start making hats?
I’ve always been creative. I used to love to draw and eventually started painting on fabric. I still love to paint. I also used to love designing clothes. I’d ask my mum to make what I designed, and she did.
By the time I was close to 20, I would find her hats and change them. She was always conservative in style. She had her standard way of making hats – always using the same hat block to make picture hats.
I could not stand seeing those normal hats. So, one day, I just got one and pulled the brim over to the other side. She was yelling as it was ready to be picked up. I got the flower that was still pinned and pulled it off the brim and put it underneath. Ironically Kate Middleton wore hats like that years later.
My mum realised that there was a talent. After that incident, she told me: ‘I want to see you make a hat’. I was about 20 years old. I remember questioning my decisions along the way. But I made this hat which, to her, was really weird. She recognised my talent and encouraged me to continue.
Meanwhile, mummy had a boutique for some years and she sold accessories and her hats. I’d pick up a scarf and paint on it: ‘Souvenir of Malta’ or something else. Tourists would want to buy the scarf they saw me paint. I even painted on swimsuits.
How did it grow from a hobby into a brand?
My mother’s hands were full with my siblings and she stopped making hats. She passed on everything to me. I started to experiment a lot with the fabrics, bases and starches. I did a lot of research. I took it far from where my mother started. My hat bases became hard like shells, then I used to foam them. I wanted to make sure that they would not get dented.
I then started working with my dad in insurance in my early 20s to make some money. It was not really my thing. Then I got married when I was 24 and stopped working so I had more time.
Round about then I started working on a collection for the Lions Club with the support of my mum. We were like sisters as she had me at 19.
So I organised a fashion show: designed the clothes and painted on the fabric - raw and corded silk - and got the dresses I designed made by seamstresses. I painted on shoes and made hats and even made matching bags. I’d get lost. I just loved it.
The collection did well. Then I made another one and I started getting clients. I started painting on clothes also – people started coming to me to paint on their clothes – even on wedding dresses. That was quite stressful but thank God nothing ever went wrong.
I had time on my hands, and I wanted to make good use of it.
Your experience goes beyond hat-making right?
With my experience in fashion and design, I drifted into the stylist world. Today I’m a stylist and image consultant. I love it.
Back in the day, I started having television experiences. They reached out for me for Restyle, a makeover programme where I provided advice on style and fashion.
I started being invited on programmes and landed a weekly spot on one of them. I participated in Fashion Week with my hats and set up my own shows – sometimes working with other fashion designers and sometimes alone.
Along the way there were lessons learnt. When you work on your own – which I did for a long time - you risk not realising that you need to be tough with some people. There were times when I trusted the wrong people who took credit for my work. I learned to ask for credit where it is due and guard my creative work more carefully.
How did the brand name ‘La Rossa’ come about?
I’m a very vibrant person. I love colour. When I dyed my hair red it was still rare in Malta. It was at a time of my life when I was going through a big personal change in my early 40s.
My son was still young and I had started working a couple of mornings in a shop and one of the people there would call me ‘Rossa’ (redhead) inspired from my name ‘Rosanna’ and hair colour.
Tell me about the hat-making process.
There’s a hat for everyone. People used to be much more conservative before. Hats were all the same shape, just decorated in a different way. But now things are different.
I believe that, if a person is coming to me for a hat or headpiece, they want something original - otherwise they can just buy or rent one.
Making a hat is like I’m painting - and I still paint also. I’d have a vague idea and, then I just let go and see where it takes me. Otherwise I’m setting boundaries and I don’t like that. I like it when clients trust me. I like to know who will wear the hat because I strongly believe that not everyone can wear the same hat.
“Making a hat is like I’m painting. I’d have a vague idea and, then I just let go and see where it takes me. Otherwise I’m setting boundaries and I don’t like that.”
It takes about a week to make one. I first need to shape the blocking material, which is shaped on the blocks and use starches and chemicals to keep it in shape. Then you have to wire it, foam it, cover it -depending on the hat or headpiece.
I interview the person before I start making it: about the outfit they will be wearing. If they have offcuts from a custom-made dress I use them, no matter, how small, as this makes sure there is continuity.
If there are no offcuts I use millinery materials. I get to know the person. I look at the facial features and body stature - hers and her partner’s - and even the type of the event they will be attending. I see the bigger picture which is where my stylist experience comes in.
Any general styling advice you can share?
I believe that, what people see when you first approach them, has to be what you want them to see. If you don’t care, it’s fine. But if you want to give a particular impression, you need to work on it.
You can't get a result without doing anything. You need to take some time to think about it and plan the way to get there.
Life is so fast and it can be quite a chore to look the way you want to look – especially these days with social media. This is why it’s important to be happy with yourself so, if you want to spend more time on it, it’s fine. And if you don’t give a hoot, that’s fine also.
Hats off to that!
You can learn more about Rosanna’s headpieces by following her on Facebook - La Rossa.
How she does it…
We often look on at other people in awe and ask ourselves: How does she do it? How does she find the time? How does she find the willpower?
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