About Us

Meet our CEO & Designer - Ilona S.

Creativity’s always been around me. My parents were competitive ballroom dancers, and my dad, brother, and aunt are all painters. So yeah, it runs deep in my family. I just didn’t always know where my own creativity belonged.

My background is in IT. Hat design wasn’t the plan.

Then I moved to Harlem in 2018. The fashion, the boldness, the way people expressed themselves - it gave me room to explore that part of myself.

One day, I walked into a shop with hats, pins, and feathers. I asked someone to put something together for me, but it wasn’t quite what I had in mind. So I asked if I could try it myself.

That little moment turned into Fedora Designs.

I started by making something I wanted to wear. People noticed. And somewhere along the way, I began to recognize the gift I’d walked into.

During the pandemic, I took a chance on it. I packed up my tiny Harlem apartment and moved to Atlanta. Harlem had opened something up in me, and Atlanta gave it room to grow.

My fedoras have presence. They have personality. I like creating something a little different - something that gives you room to express yourself, too.

That’s how this started for me. A feather, a little curiosity, and a God-given gift I didn’t see coming.