Hundreds of colourful bristles emanate from headdresses in Maiko Takeda's millinery collection, presented at the Royal College of Art fashion show earlier this week.

The adornments consist of transparent plastic spikes tinted with colour gradients at the bases and tips, which are held in place between sections of acrylic joined by small silver rings.

"While hats are commonly made with substantial and durable materials such as fabric, felt, plastic, leather so on, instead I wanted to create ethereal experiences for the wearer through the pieces," Takeda told Dezeen.

"Through the experiment process, I developed the technique to create a visual effect of intangible aura by layering printed clear film, sandwiched with acrylic discs and linked together with silver jump rings."

One head piece comprises two domes covered in orange and red spines that sit either side of the face with in thin gap in between, and another mask with orange and purple spines wraps around the head like a sea cucumber.

Peacock-tail-coloured quills fan out like ruffled feathers around a visor that masks from forehead to mouth. Another design covers the head, shoulders and bust but leaves the face exposed, while a different garment reaches from one wrist to another along two sleeves that join across the chest and back.

"When I saw the Philipp Glass and Robert Wilson opera Einstein on the Beach last year, it became my main inspiration and its futuristic mood of the space age heavily influenced the aesthetic of my collection," said Takeda. Her collection was part of the Royal College of Art's annual fashion show, which took place on several occasions this week.

Last month we wrote about headsets that allow the wearer to adjust their sight and hearing, which were also developed by a group of Royal College of Art students.

Photography is by Bryan Huynh.

See more mask design »
See more projects by Royal College of Art students »
See more fashion design »