French-American designer Nick Fouquet teams up with Telluride's Madeline hotel and bootmaker Lucchese, bringing a modern aesthetic to classic hat silhouettes and cowboy boots.
The Lucchese x Nick Fouquet collection is titled “The Ballad of Big Velvet.” Photo by Boo George/Lucchese.
Renowned California hatmaker Nick Fouquet has partnered with Telluride’s Madeline hotel and Lucchese to bring craftsmanship and the cowboy ethos to the San Juans. For the holidays—and through Jan. 15—Madeline Hotel & Residences, Auberge Resorts Collection will host a pop-up shop with a curated collection of Nick Fouquet hats and accessories. Fouquet also collaborated with Western heritage bootmaker Lucchese, which has a shop in the Madeline complex, on a line of cowboy boots and, naturally, a unique hat for the Texas-based luxury brand.
Buy one of the visionary designer’s ready-to-wear hats, inspired by Telluride and tailored specifically for Madeline, or work with an on-site artisan to design your own personalized custom hat. The pop-up’s collection includes knitwear, beanies, baseball caps and a limited run of t-shirts.
In addition to the Madeline collection—which blends cowboy-inspired luxury with alpine flair crafted exclusively for the takeover—the Nick Fouquet x Lucchese boots will be available at the pop-up shop in the lobby of the Madeline, which, incidentally, was awarded a coveted Michelin Guide key in 2024.
Hatmaker Nick Fouquet. Photo by Kris Brock.
Fouquet started his career in fashion as a model, following in the footsteps of his French father, Bernard Fouquet, who modeled for Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger. But Nick has found his niche in bespoke artistry, a style that celebrates timeless craftsmanship and an American West aesthetic with modern touches. The designer plays with crown shapes, color, and rich detail using sewing and embroidery techniques. Hats employ accouterments like premium hardware and French fabrics, as well as feathers, wax stamps, brim swags, smoke rings, ceramics, patches, and hand painting.
Fouquet started the brand in his Los Angeles garage studio in 2013; today, the hats are crafted by artisans in the brand’s 5,000-square-foot L.A. headquarters on Abbot Kinney Boulevard. Celebrities like Pharrell Williams, Madonna and Anne Hathaway have donned the bespoke toppers. In Colorado, Nick Fouquet has boutiques in Denver, Telluride, Aspen and Steamboat. The hatmaker lives in Los Angeles in a 1970s geodesic dome that appeared on the cover of Elle Décor in 2020.
Western heritage bootmaker Lucchese and Nick Fouquet have partnered for a second collaboration. Dropping in Fall 2024, the Lucchese x Nick Fouquet collection, titled “The Ballad of Big Velvet,” draws inspiration from a romantic, nostalgic road trip through the heart of the American West.
“This second chapter with Nick represents more than just a fresh, beautiful collection—it’s a celebration of our shared appreciation of authentic craftsmanship, the cowboy ethos and a nod to vintage Western fashion,” says Doug Hogue, VP of Product at Lucchese.
Handmade in Texas, the collection features four women’s boots, including the Calico, an eclectic, vintage revamp of ’70s style patchwork design. The Little Reata, named for the fictional ranch in the 1956 James Dean movie Giant, comes in a bold cherry red with diamond and floral inlays in crème and blue.
The Lucchese x Nick Fouquet collection includes the cherry red Little Realta. Photo by Boo George/Lucchese.
The men’s line of four boots includes Barking Irons, which draws inspiration from the 19th-century revolver. It marries rich shades of browns and cognacs with textured Nile Crocodile leather. A modern take on a Western classic, the Ace High men’s boot features Nile Crocodile vamps, intricate inlays and a custom Lucchese x NF silver tip at the toe.
The Lucchese x Nick Fouquet collab also includes three Western hats, the Palomino Holy Paw, Outer Range and Highway 89.
“This collection has so much of my soul in it,” says Fouquet. “I referenced some old movies and was listening to a lot of old country albums. To me, it was paramount to get into the archives and history of the brand on a granular level. In the end, the essence is adventure, the places we go with our boots, and the stories we remember on our journeys.”
Photography by: Boo George/Lucchese
