The Borsalino

While French fashion of the Second Empire was triumphing and high-form hats were king, one hatter created a small revolution in Italy. After working in the hatter Camagna, then paying his dues in Paris, Giuseppe Borsalino founded his own atelier in 1857 in Alessandria, south of Turin. There he conceived a hat who’s felt was made of rabbit or beaver fur. What with these new materials, the headpiece gained in finesse and suppleness and even in allure, notably thanks to a hollow on the upper part of its crown. This stroke of genius would win Borsalino the “Grand Prix” at the universal exhibition in Paris in 1900, in Brussels in 1910, in Turin in 1911, and then again in Paris in 1931. When the founder died in 1900, the Borsalino brand was producing more than 750,000 hats a year.

Borsalino gave his name to his creation, but the history of his felt hat is such that it sports many names. Starting in 1992, it was also called a fedora after a play that “The Divine” Sarah Bernhardt was in. Borsalino has always dressed the greatest heads in Hollywood and popular culture. Indiana Jones, throughout his incredible adventures, never loses his, and Hemingway was also a fan. Al Capone and his cronies made it their signature in the 30s, while Humphrey Bogart never left his, to the point where it was also nicknamed the Bogart. Faded into memory for a time in the 60s, the Borsalino saw its notoriety explode with the eponymous Jacques Deray film in 1970, where Alain Delon and Jean-Paul Belmondo romped around under the sun of Marseille. The greater public wanted a piece of these two sacred idols of French cinema, while at the same time the biggest stars continued to show their affection for it. Who could forget the King of Pop, Michael Jackson himself, doing the Moonwalk to Billie Jean, a Borsalino on his head, in 1983?

158 years young, Borsalino still pursues the fabrication of its hats, the most famous of which remains the fedora, in accordance with the same artisanal procedures as in 1857. Between blowing, basting, creasing, anchoring, and filling, a Borsalino passes through more than 70 steps of fabrication, with most of its machines dating back to the brand’s creation. In 2006, the Borsalino Museum opened its doors inside the Alessandria factory, revealing its savoir-faire and the brand’s history to the public. Other brands have taken up the Borsalino like Tommy Hilfiger or Maison Michel who’s fedoras, often dreamlike, give a certain freshness to an outfit. For those reluctant to wear rabbit or beaver, the Borsalino is now available in straw, leaving its gangster allure aside for a style redolent of summer.