Imagine that you are in the sun-drenched Alessandria – in the courtyard in 1846. And now you see a young man who is only 12 years old, but he already has huge ambitions. His name is Giuseppe Borsalino. His dream is to create hats and open his own store. Then we are transported to 1857 – with the help of his brother Lazzaro, Giuseppe created the company Giuseppe Borsalino & Brother SpA on Schiavina Street. Borsalino approaches his business as responsibly as possible – he orders the best sewing machines from England and hires talented craftsmen. Thanks to the combination of talent, state-of-the-art technology and the magic tag “Made in Italy”, Borsalino hats became famous around the world by the beginning of the 20th century. The brand’s business card is a men’s felt hat. As planned by Giuseppe, every man, as a sign of politeness, had to take off his hat in front of a woman. Especially for this, special “dimples” for gripping appeared on each felt product.
Borsalino hats were very popular with Hollywood stars. Just remember the iconic scene from Michael Curtis’s film “Casablanca”, when Humphrey Bogart says goodbye to Ingrid Bergman in the rain, saying: “We will always have Paris.” What do we see on Bogart’s head? That very felt hat. Among other admirers of accessories of the Borsalino family – Robert Redford, Marcello Mastroianni, Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich … In 1970, the legendary film about gangsters from Marseille, called “Borsalino”, was released – Alain Delon, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Catherine Rouvel appeared in the film , Françoise Christophe and other famous actors. The Hat Company agreed to “lend” the title to the painting and its sequel, Borsalino and Company, on the condition that the factory’s logo appears on every poster. The idea, by the way, belongs to Alain Delon.
Frame from the movie “Borsalino”, 1970
Subsequently, many designers, our contemporaries, created collaborations with Borsalino. Among them are Tom Ford, Nick Fouquet, Yohji Yamamoto, Jeremy Scott and many, many others. For 160 years, Borsalino hats have remained not just a symbol of Italian fashion – “Borsalino” is a household name in the absolute. So, if you have been planning to invest in a hat for a long time, we recommend buying the legendary hat, which still remains a symbol of good taste and timeless elegance.
Selene Oliva /Vogue.it
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