Tracey Tau – TOOALI Millinery and The Essential Hat

Tracey Tau is a Melbourne-based milliner, currently a Vice President of Millinery Australia, the creative behind TOOALI Millinery, and the new owner of The Essential Hat. Her journey into millinery began after a long career in the racing industry, where her passion for fashion and textiles inspired her to pursue hat-making. In 2013, she refined her skills at Kangan Institute, learning from leading Australian milliners such as Louise Macdonald, Serena Linderman, (the late) Paris Kyne, Melissa Jackson, Richard Nylon, and Rose Hudson. Her love for vintage fabrics led her to create truly unique hats for her own millinery brand – TOOALI – “The Only One Around Like It”.

Her creative process is intuitive, resulting in pieces that are as distinctive as the people who wear them. Her talent has earned her recognition as a Top 10 Finalist with the piece “Finderella” in the Millinery Australia Design Award in 2023.

 In 2023 Tracey became the new owner of The Essential Hat, taking the shop over from her long time millinery partner and collaborator Cathrine Ellen. In this episode Tracey also shares the background story of the transition and how Cathrine Ellen left the millinery industry after decades of leading one of the most popular hat and accessories shop in Melbourne and organising the MIMC -Melbourne International Millinery Competition since 2017.

Through her creativity, leadership, multitasking superpower and entrepreneurial spirit, Tracey Tau is shaping the future of Australian millinery and inspiring a new generation of hat makers and lovers.

This podcast is hosted and produced by Lauren Ritchie and edited by Maria Volkova for MillineryInfo