David Redhead: Oriole you look fabulous. Is that a Stephen Jones hat?

OC: Yes it's a Stephen Jones special. We had lots of wrangling over what I was going to wear, but Stephen said it had to be a tiara.

DR: What should people be looking out for? What's your favourite exhibit?

OC: Gosh. There's so much to see really … It's very hard to decide, there's over 350 hats. There's something for everybody, there are hats worn by famous people, there are hats by new milliners, hats by Stephen, Philip Treacy and lots of other fantastic milliners, so it's something for everyone.

DR: Brilliant, thank you.

DR: Tell us about the hat you chose tonight.

SJ: The hat I chose tonight is a French Basque beret, but I've had eight Indian men working on it for two weeks to sew all the beads on. These are the finest bugle beads you can buy. They actually have to sew them on with a stiffened thread because they're too fine to get a needle through.

DR: So the day has arrived for all this work, two years of work.

SJ: And more.

DR: Are you happy with the results?

SJ: Yes it's been amazing, absolutely incredible. When I see it today, it's exactly how I wanted it to be. The only thing which isn't quite here is Carmen Miranda's hat not arrived from Brazil yet. But that's coming by the end of next week.

DR: So tell me about your fabulous hat.

EO'C: Some bloke called Stephen Jones made it. I don't know, he's up and coming. Maybe he'll make it, maybe he won't!

DR: Who's frock are you wearing?

EO'C: Well I thought if I was going to go Stephen Jones, I had to go Vivienne Westwood. I mean you don't get to rock up to the V&A, the most beautiful institution in the world very often, so I thought drama and theatre.

DR: Hi, so no hat?

RM: No hat for me tonight?

DR: Why not?

RM: I know I usually have (laughs) I actually didn't get a chance to go out and borrow one or buy one, so here I am, I made my own hat with my hair.

DR: So tell us about your hat tonight.

PT: It's an antique 1920s top hat from Locks that's had a whole other life of its own.

DR: As a milliner, you probably know best of all what makes Stephen a special milliner, what is it do you think?

PT: Well he has his own point of view and people that have there own point of view have more success because the world is full of copiers and there are few originals.

DR: Are you a big fan of Stephen Jones?

MB: I am a great fan of Stephen Jones; in fact he's one of the few great ones in this world of fashion, which is a great artist.

DR: What is it that makes … its one thing being a scholar but what about - what does he (Stephen Jones) bring that's special?

GD: Spontaneity is the thing I love the most about him. He's like a magician. He conjures up the most beautiful things so quickly and rapidly and just takes things into another dimension that you would never have thought imaginable.

DR: And is this a highlight of Fashion week for you?

CMD: It's THE highlight. It's probably the highlight of the fashion year as far as London is concerned. And I'm very pleased to see there are lots of people here from Milan and Paris and New York - it's pulled them all in. They haven't come for London Fashion; they've come for Stephen. It's homage to Stephen.

PK: I suppose in cash strapped times a nice hat can make an outfit and it's a more economical way of dressing up something.

DR: Well they do say, "If you want to get ahead …

PK: ... Get a hat. There we go. Boom. Boom.

DR: And your hat?

AJ: I'm a hair man, not a hat man. I think you just have to find out what you are and accept it really.

DR: Tell me why do couturiers, designers need milliners? Why can't they do the hats themselves?

JC: Well it's a different craft; it's a very exact specific craft, hat making and millining. You can have an idea but to execute it is a different thing.

DR: You've worked with Stephen a lot?

AP: He works, I wear.

DR: Not wearing a hat tonight?

DW: Well the thing is I'm very tall and if I wear a hat I get even taller, I've got a beautiful bowler and top-hat at home that I got from Lock & Co, they're like antiques, beautiful. But I'd like to get more into them. I might get Stephen to make a nice hat for Matt, because Matt wears hats.

DR: What sort of hat do you fancy?

DW: Sort of a Robin Hood hat or something like that.