Wendy Brandes Jewelry Blog

Never Is the Next New Thing

RIP Hair Hat Lady

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Not long ago, photos of “hair hats” went viral, showing up on numerous blogs and websites.

Hair hat

But I didn’t know till I read it on Fashion Hayley that the artist responsible for the hair hats, Nagi Noda, died on September 7 at age 35. The cause of death is said to be “surgical complications from injuries sustained in a traffic accident the previous year.” I find that explanation for her death at such a young age to be quite odd. Over here, it says, “Noda had experienced ongoing complications related to a bad car accident last year that resulted in chronic pain. The exact cause of death was not specified.” That site also quotes one of her reps as saying Noda died “in her Mark Ryden dress, Chanel boots, perfect make-up with Viktor & Rolf lace black eye lashes.” I suspect there’s more to this story.

Regardless of the cause of death, a moment of silence for the hair hat lady, please.

(By the way, Nagi Noda was an artist who worked in a variety of media, including video, and my understanding is that the hair was sculpture, never intended to be worn by regular folks. Here’s a story where she explains her work a bit.)

Nagi Noda

UPDATED TO ADD: Do a good deed today in memory of Nagi Noda and donate to the NieNie fund. Any amount is fine! Send me your receipt and I’ll put you on my list of donors.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Oh my–how awful! I posted on these unusual accessories a while ago. It’s so sad to see a young life cut short.

  4. Very sad.

    I have a friend who collects Victorian hair jewelry. It’s interesting to look at but I cannot bring myself to touch it. Shudder.

  5. i saw this too… and wanted to write a post about it but didn ‘t quite know how. lovley job wendy.
    xx
    j.

  11. I had never heard of her or hair hats before now, but that is far too young to die and she was amazingly talented. RIP.

  12. how tragic! though i’d never be able to sport a look like this, i admire her creativity and originality.

  16. That is awful news, but it’s wonderful that her designs are still being appreciated. That hair hat reminds a bit of the Gaultier fall runway!

    xoxox,
    CC

  19. OMG, that is horrible. She may have had an adhesion (which is common after trauma, surgery, etc.) that ruptured. She was such an amazing talent 🙁

  26. What a sad story, and a sad loss to the creative world too. I think the media is often quite discreet about reporting that type of death for various reasons.

  30. She had such a unique perspective. It’s really rare for an artist to have such an uncompromisingly different vision and still have self awareness and humor. I’m so sad to think of all the amazing things she would have done in the years to come.

  32. oh my, how sad! she was very talented and creative to have come up with such an innovative idea.

  33. Not that I’m an expert, but isn’t listing what someone was wearing when they died a little…gauche? Creativity Online-license I guess.

  35. wow 35 is such a young age. It is such a shame! Its always the talented ones whos lives get cut short…

  36. wow. Yesterday was the first I had seen these amazing creations. It sounds like her death was tragic not to mention too soon. I’m going to check out the other links. How sad. …but Mark Ryden dress? I was not aware he made dresses? Super curious now. Thanks!!!