Borsalino Hats History

Borsalino Hats - Alessandria 1857

Giuseppe Borsalino was born in 1834. A spirit of initiative and healthy persistence, two typical virtues of this Italy, undoubtedly helped Giuseppe Borsalino blossom from a 14 year old boy working in a hat factory into one of the most important Italian industrialists of the 20th century. After visiting Italy and France to learn the secrets of the trade, he introduced new production processes, which coupled with his extraordinary ability, determined the immediate success of the company.

The History of the Borsalino Hats go backs to 1857 when Giuseppe Borsalino went to France to learn hat making. On his return to Italy, his first hat came out of the factory on April 4, 1857. By 1875 his catalog listed sixty different hat models.

Giuseppe Borsalino was one of the first industrialists to take into consideration the social aspects and difficulties attached to modern industry. His democratic and humanitarian ideals resulted in the creation of a health insurance and a pension fund for his workers.

When Giuseppe Borsalino died in 1900, his business employed almost a thousand workers and boasted an annual production of one million hats. Teresio Borsalino, succeeded his father, and added to this initial success. The company rapidly grew, and by 1913 employed more than 2500 workers and reached an annual production of more than 2 million hats.

Its products reached every corner of the world, the fame of its trademark remained untouched, and the name Borsalino became part of fashion history. In 1970 Borsalino inspired a famous and successful film titled "Borsalino".

Today Borsalino hat collections are larger, and in addition to the classic felt hat, include the famous straw hats "Panama-Montecristi". Borsalino hats continue to be made of the finest materials and leathers, and have added styles targeted to the young hat-wearer.

The factory was originally located in the center of Alessandria. In 1986 the factory moved to a new more efficient and modern site in the suburbs of Alessandria. The old Borsalino factory, which housed the famous Hat Museum until a few years ago, is now home to the Eastern Piedmont University.

Alessandria 1857- A place and a time where the pioneering spirit and thoroughly European culture of Giuseppe Borsalino convene to establish what will become the famed world leader “Borsalino.”

As early as 1907 the reconciliation of the “Borsalino” brand across the continents was so great that one of the very first Italian distributorship in Japan was established.

The legend goes on and in the seventies Borsalino hats co-starred with the most famous actors of the time in what is now a cult movie, called nothing less than Borsalino. Borsalino today is still a star. It adorns the heads of the most prominent people in the world. Donning a hat is now again part of the apparel of a well appointed person as well as a whimsical fashion accessory.

Borsalino hats can be found in the best stores all over the world. In addition to Borsalino's traditional, turn of the century shops in Milano and Alessandria, new ones have been opened recently: Florence, Rome, Bari, Asti and Bologna.

Distribution also has expanded to encompass the Far East where, in addition to the traditional retailers, Borsalino shops-in-shops are located in Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore. More recently Borsalino has opened a branch in New York to cover the distribution in North.

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