Master milliner Paris Kyne has passed away, in the same year he celebrated 25 years or "9131 days of hats, feathers and parties".
While Kyne was more recently known for dressing celebrities such as Paris and Nicky Hilton, Tara Moss and Kate Ceberano, he had a long and respected history in the trade.
Kyne staged two solo exhibitions in the US and eleven in his home country.
In 2008, he was inducted into the prestigious City of Stonnington Fashion Hall of Fame.
During his career, he accumulated a collection of over 500 hat blocks, some of which were up to 120 years old.
In marking his 25th year in business this year, Kyne revealed his journey started at 'Melbourne Hats' in 1988.
"The job was as a hat blocker, basically I blocked hats for eight hours a day, but here I learnt to manipulate fibres," he said.
"Every type of fibre and every type of weave moves differently. You are required to know your fibre and weave breakdown to manipulate the hood into the required shape. This takes years of practice but the end result is stunning.”
Kyne was then offered a job with the late William Beale of 'Mr Individual' fame.
Kyne took the position of artistic director at Martin Penner International when Beale passed away in 1992.
In 1994, he purchased 'Helen Mobray Millinery' in Glenferrie Road, Malvern.
The business had already traded for 43 years under Mobray, where Kyne traded for nine years, before moving to Toorak Village.
Kyne trained at London Collage of Fashion and in the workrooms of Frederick Fox in U.K., and at Martin Penner International, Melbourne Hats and William Beale (Mr. Individual) in Melbourne.
He tutored in textiles, design and millinery at Kangan Institute in Richmond and was the principal of his own “The William Beale School of Millinery”.