Jennifer Ouellette

Jennifer Ouellette is a milliner based in New York City and Santiago de los Caballeros. She designs hats for both men and women, in addition to headbands and other hair accessories for the "everyday modern girl." Ouellette's headbands and hair accessories are distinctive in that traditional millinery techniques are used to ensure a comfortable and secure fit. Ouellette developed her appreciation for fashion and millinery at her mother's vintage clothing store where she was exposed to historic and classic lines. Her father is an industrial designer with 45 US patents specializing in complex packaging.

After graduating from Kirkwood High School in 1989, she went on to study Textile and Apparel Management and Theater Design at the University of Missouri. Thereafter, she attended the London College of Fashion As of 2015, Ouellette's private studio and showroom is located in the Flatiron District of Manhattan. She also has a smaller studio based in Santiago, in the Dominican Republic. Although more expensive than outsourcing to China and India, Ouellette has expressed appreciation for the Dominicans' fine hand-sewing. One of her designs in the exhibition featured a straw cityscape applied to a straw pagoda shape on a headband, which she said was in tribute to New York's resilience following the events of 9/11.