Louisville Favorite Jenny Pfanenstiel A Featured Milliner Of the 146th Kentucky Derby®

Dec 11, 2019 Sara Brown Meehan

Owner of Formé Millinery and Master Milliner to Bring Her One-of-A-Kind Headwear to Derby Fans Around the World

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- December 11, 2019 – Churchill Downs Racetrack today announced that Master Milliner and owner of Formé Millinery Jenny Pfanenstiel is a Featured Milliner of the 146^th Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve. While the Derby has been famous for its iconic hats for 145 years, Jenny is only the second featured milliner in its history and the first to be based in Louisville, the home of the Kentucky Derby. Jenny is renowned throughout the world for her dedication to craft and quality in her one-of-a-kind creations for the head. Her hats and fascinators for women and men are available at the Formé Millinery Hat Shop in downtown Louisville, specialty boutiques around the world and at https://formemillinery.com/.

Pfanenstiel is internationally recognized for her award-winning craft of creating and sculpting hats by hand using the highest quality and rare materials from across the globe. She incorporates traditional millinery techniques that date back centuries and is known for her unique practice of sculpting hats on a braid machine from the 1800s, making her a perfect fit for the oldest continuously held sporting event in North America.

“The Kentucky Derby’s iconic hats are part of what make it one of the world’s greatest spectacles,” said Pfanenstiel. “As a milliner, I am thrilled to become part of its history and help make Derby fans feel sensational in my hats on a day where fashion takes center stage.”

Pfanenstiel has created hats for some of the world’s most fashionable people including Former First Lady Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Madonna, Neil Diamond and Barbara Corcoran from the TV show “Shark Tank.” She is the Official Milliner of the Kentucky Derby Museum and a Featured Milliner of the Keeneland Racetrack in Lexington, KY. She has created exclusive hat collections for vineyard vines, Covet Fashion Style App, J Peterman, American Express, Goodman Theatre and the Joffrey Ballet and is a hat designer for McCall Patterns. In 2019, she was selected as a Tory Burch Fellow through the Tory Burch Foundation as a woman entrepreneur. She is also the author of the book, “The Making of a Milliner.”

“The Kentucky Derby is synonymous with great hats,” said Kevin Flanery, President, Churchill Downs Racetrack. “So it’s an honor to feature a local Master Milliner of Jenny’s talent at the 146th running of the Kentucky Derby.”

About the Kentucky Derby

The $3 million Kentucky Derby takes place on the first Saturday in May at historic Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.  Inaugurated in 1875, the legendary 1 ¼-mile race for three-year-olds is the oldest continuously held major sporting event in North America and the first leg of horse racing's Triple Crown series. Known as the 'The Run for the Roses,' 'The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports' and 'America's Race,' the Kentucky Derby is the most attended horserace in the nation.

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