Borsalino — the end of a style icon
Since 1857, Borsalino has been the epitome of style and elegance when it comes to men's hats. Now the Italian company is broke. But no matter what happens the Borsalino will remain ingrained in our imaginations.
Since 1857
The famous hat maker was founded 160 years ago by Giuseppe Borsalino in northern Italy. By the 1920s the company was producing two million hats a year.
A look back
Hats for men, gangsters and gentlemen. Here Jean-Paul Belmondo and Alain Delon — though the atmosphere is that of the 1930s, the movie is actually from 1970.
In the factory
At the Borsalino factory in Alessandria, all 130 employees are now worried about their jobs. After all, to turn a hat into a Borsalino, 80 employees must individually work their magic.
The felt hat
It takes 52 special steps to turn Belgian rabbit hair into a special felt hat — nothing but felt and not common wool and not straw — only then can it be called a Borsalino.
An expensive choice
A Borsalino hat was never cheap. One hat costs between €250 and €800 ($300-$945). But today the brand is barely known among the younger generation — keeping sales to a minimum.
The real star of the movie
In 1970, there was a movie called "Borsalino" — the star of Italian-French production next to (well, actually under) the distinctive and fashionable hat: Alain Delon.
An amazing legacy
Icon with an icon: Here Humphrey Bogart (with a Borsalino) in a key final scene of the movie "Casablanca" with co-star Ingrid Bergman (without a Borsalino).
Trying again
In 2015, Borsalino just barely missed going broke and then tried a major reboot — here is part of the 2016 collection at the Florentine fashion fair Pitti Uomo.
What's left?
Today people like Johnny Depp, Leonardo Di Caprio, Denzel Washington and Kate Moss wear Borsalinos. Clerics and Orthodox Jews do too. Despite this the liquidator is taking over in Alessandria.