In a studio in the center of Paris, hat designers toil at their desks at sewing machines that date back more than 50 years. The hats, adorned with a black ribbon, as well as the rabbit fedoras, bell hats and other soft hats, were made in the tiny workshop of Mademoiselle Chapeaux, a brand born six years ago that spearheaded the hat Renaissance.

Another trendsetter is Maison Michel, one of the biggest and fastest-growing names in high-end hats, which opened a boutique at Printemps in Paris last month. The brand’s following includes Pharrell Williams, Alexa Chung and Jessica Alba.

“The hat became a new expression,” says Priscilla Royer, artistic director of chanel’s own label. In a way, it’s like a new tattoo.”

In Paris in the 1920s, there was a hat shop on almost every corner, and no self-respecting man or woman left home without a hat. Hat is the symbol of status, not just at the time or the way to the fashion world: many famous milliner later develop into very mature fashion designer, including Gabrielle chanel (her name is miss Coco more famous), kanu Lanvin (Jeanne Lanvin) and (2) a century ago Ross bell temple (Rose Bertin) – she is Mary. Antoinette Queen (Queen Marie Antoinette) seamstress. But after the 1968 student movement in Paris, young French people abandoned their parents’ sartorial habits in favor of a new freedom, and hats fell out of favor.

By the 1980s, traditional 19th-century hat-making techniques, such as straw hat sewing and woolen hat steaming, had all but disappeared. But now, to meet the growing demand for handmade, bespoke hats, these techniques are back and being revived by a new generation of hatters.

The hat market is valued at about $15bn a year, according to Euromonitor, a market research firm — a fraction of the global handbag market, which is valued at $52bn.

But hat makers such as Janessa Leone, Gigi Burris and Gladys Tamez are all growing fast, with orders pouring in from all over the world, even if they are not in Paris but in vibrant fashion capitals like New York or Los Angeles.

Retailers in Paris, London and Shanghai also said they had noticed significant increases in hat sales. Both Le Bon Marche and printemps, the high-end Parisian department stores owned by LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, have noticed an increase in demand for hats for both men and women over the past three quarters.

Rival lane crawford, which has department stores in Hong Kong and mainland China, said it had just increased its hat purchases by 50 per cent and that hats had become one of its best-selling fashion accessories.

Andrew Keith, the company’s chairman, said: “popular styles tend to be reworks of the classics — fedoras, panamas and brims for both men and women. “We’ve had clients say they like to wear hats when they’re casual, because it’s natural and casual, but it’s still stylish and stylish.”

Online retailer net-a-porter says fedoras are still their customers’ favorite hat style, despite a recent spike in sales for both casual hats and beanie hats.

Lisa Aiken, retail fashion director for net-a-porter, which is now part of the milan-based Yoox net-a-porter group, said: “customers are becoming bolder and more confident in establishing their own personal style.” The region with the biggest growth in hat sales was Asia, with hat sales in China rising 14 percent in 2016 from the same period last year, she said.

Stephen Jones, the london-based hat designer who founded his own label and co-designed several women’s fashion stores including dior and Azzedine Alaia, says he has never been so busy before.

He added: “hats are no longer about prestige; It makes people look cooler and more present. A hat would add a bright spark to today’s rather drab and timid world.”