White remains the color of the bride, but in 2026 it gets a bold twist: the hat as the crowning piece of the look. Forget the classic veil, tiara, or traditional hairstyle; this year it's all about the hat. During the 2026 Hat Contest, themed 'Say Hat to the Dress!', hat designers and enthusiasts are challenged to let their creativity run wild. The task? Design the perfect hat or headpiece that brings one of the three unique wedding dresses to life. A playful encounter between craftsmanship, elegance, and fashion art.

Entry

• The competition is open to every hat maker worldwide.
• You choose one wedding dress; no further changes can be made.
• Your registration for participation and the payment of your enrollment must be completed via the NHV website by January 31, 2026. 
• By registering and making the payment, the participant declares their agreement with the competition terms and conditions.
• Should you wish to withdraw from the competition after registration, please let the Competition Committee know by email as soon as possible. In this manner, we provide other interested parties the opportunity to fill the vacant position.
• If you withdraw from the competition or do not send in a hat for any reason, there will be no refund of the entry fee.
• Participants who do not submit a hat and do not contact the Competition Committee about it, may be excluded from participation the following year.

Competition Hat Conditions

• The participant designs a bridal hat. The interpretation of this is free: the participant may decide for themselves what is meant by a bridal hat, how it is designed, and which materials are used.
• The Hat Competition 2026 challenges participants to create a unique, handmade hat that complements, enhances, and completes the bridal look of one of three specially selected wedding dresses. Material and shape are free to choose.
• Your entry, a (cocktail) hat, fascinator, or other headwear, must be an original design created specifically for this contest. It must be handmade by you and meet our requirements. The hat must not have been shown before or closely resemble previous entries.
• The Jury will take all these elements into account. The judgement of the jury is final and no correspondence will be made regarding the results.
• You may not show any photos of your entry on social media or on your website before the winners are announced by the Jury on the day of the competition, May 9, 2026, in Arcen.
• The hat must be of good quality and craftsmanship (hat craftsmanship).
• The hat should be wearable, comfortable and balanced. In the case of a women's hat, it should be suitable for size 57 - 58 cm.
• The entries will be judged blindly. (Name/brand/label) tags in, or on the hat are therefore not allowed and may be reason to disqualify the entry.
• The seam of the (inner) band is centre back. If this is not possible because of the design, indicate with a cross in a contrasting colour what the centre back is. 
• The Jury will judge to what extent you have adhered to the competition conditions. In case of non-compliance, the Jury may decide to disqualify your competition hat.
• Work can be refused without explanation. 
• Each participant may submit a maximum of 1 hat.

Hat Delivery and Information

• Your hat has to be sent in no later than March 14 2026 to the delivery address. This address will be provided to you after your registration.                                                              
• We ask you to supply the following information twice, once printed on an A4 sheet in your mail package and once digitally, using the appropriate form on the website:

• For publication in the competition photo lookbook and on the website your hat will be photographed on a model. During the photoshoot, the female model will wear her hair in a bun and the models (M/F) will be photographed from the front, or possibly from the side.
• The text you send digitally will be included in the lookbook associated with the competition. The lookbook will be published in Dutch and English. You may add your own translation. The organization reserves the right to shorten the texts where necessary.
• The entire hat must fit into a sturdy box of a maximum of 50 x 50 x 50 cm; pack and send your hat in the smallest possible sturdy box and use sufficient padding material! Hats sent without a box, in a box that is too large or unsuitable will be rejected.
• Do not wrap the outside of the box containing the hat with extra wrapping paper, etc., but use a box that can be simply sealed with packing tape.

Entries From Abroad

Participants are requested to familiarise themselves with the provisions applicable in their country regarding the shipment of packages. For shipments from outside the EU:

• If you add the statement "samples without any commercial value nor insurance value“ or ”the contents have no commercial value“ on the outside of the parcel, the chances of incurring customs clearance charges are low.
• If you indicate the value of your hat on the outside of the parcel, import duties may have to be paid at customs. In that case, the NHV will only accept the parcel after the customs duties have been paid by the participant. To this end, a payment request will be sent. Please allow extra clearance time in relation to the deadline.

Exhibition and Return Shipping

• The competition hats will be exhibited for three weeks after the competition day. 
• If there is a possibility for the competition hats to be exhibited for a longer period or elsewhere, permission will be sought from the participant. 
• During that period, you will receive a payment request from the Treasurer of the NHV for the return. Payment must be made before the return will take place.
• Check the address on this payment request.
• Your hat will be returned to the address you provided at the end of the exhibition and after we have received your payment, unless you have indicated that you would like to collect it yourself.