A craftswoman sews the brim of a Borsalino hat, in her factory in Alexandria in northern Italy, on March 28, 2023 (AFP/GABRIEL BOUYS)
Humphrey Bogart, Sergio Leone, Alain Delon and Jean-Paul Belmondo… the biggest movie stars have immortalized a cult headgear, the Borsalino. After its resounding bankruptcy in 2017 due to an unscrupulous boss, the legendary Italian hatter has recovered.
Its buyer, the Franco-Italian financier Philippe Camperio, managed to relaunch sales and dust off this legendary brand founded in 1857 by Giuseppe Borsalino, while remaining faithful to its DNA.
Time seems to stand still in the Borsalino factory near Alexandria, in Piedmont. Wooden machines dating back to 1888 mix and blow piles of rabbit hair before selecting the softest ones for stuffing.
Then, these hairs, imported from Belgium and Portugal, are projected by machines from the 1940s, in a cloud of steam, onto a moving metal cone before being sprayed with hot water.
These ancestral techniques unfold according to an immutable scenario, unchanged since the founding of the brand. To make a felt hat, it takes seven weeks and about fifty steps to go through, most of which are done by hand.
“At its beginnings in 1888, our manufacture was at the forefront in terms of machinery. Today, we are among the last craftsmen in the world to make hats by hand”, says Alessandro Mortarino, in charge of purchases.
Why rabbit hair? “They are softer, more consistent and malleable than wool,” he explains.
– New life –
Daniele Fascia, a craftsman at Borsalino for 15 years, is busy shaping a future Fedora. He flattens his wide brims, kneads them, smooths them and gently molds his cap, his gestures are quick, with surgical precision.
A craftsman shapes a Borsalino hat in the group’s factory in Alexandria, March 28, 2023 (AFP / GABRIEL BOUYS)
“Machines help us, but the main thing is done by hand. We respect tradition,” he smiles.
A poster of the film Borsalino and Co. by Jacques Deray, released in 1974 with Alain Delon in the main role, overlooks the company’s bright showroom, where hats of all shapes and colors are lined up.
The appointment as head of style in 2022 of Jacopo Politi, 44, a former Chanel employee, brought new life to the hatter who will celebrate his 166th birthday on April 4.
Stylist Jacopo Politi poses in front of a poster of the film Borsalino and Co., in Alexandria in Piedmont, on March 28, 2023 (AFP/GABRIEL BOUYS)
“The biggest challenge is to energize and modernize the brand to catapult it towards a colourful, young and sparkling world, while preserving its historical DNA”, he judges.
To the classic luxury hats in felt or straw Panama hats, synonymous with elegance, are added more playful baseball caps, bucket hats and especially berets, very popular with young people.
The relaunch of Borsalino will benefit, according to the stylist, from the renewed enthusiasm for the hat in the early 2000s. now it is very fashionable again”.
– Soaring revenue –
In addition to young people, the brand is seeking to attract more women, whose share of revenue has increased from 20% to 50% since the arrival of buyers. “Our objective is to increase their share to 60 or 65%”, explains Philippe Camperio to AFP.
A craftswoman passes a Borsalino felt hat over a gas fire to soften it, March 28, 2023 (AFP / GABRIEL BOUYS)
After falling by 50% in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, revenues recovered in 2021 and increased by 25% to 20 million euros in 2022.
“For 2023, we are again aiming for growth in turnover of 20 to 25%, for the moment we are in the nails despite the supply difficulties”, assures Mr. Camperio, executive chairman of the management company. Haeres Equita.
The bad practices of his former boss, Marco Marenco, sentenced in 2016 to five years in prison for fraudulent bankruptcy, had plunged Borsalino into turmoil, then in debt to the tune of 34 million euros. Now the page is turned.
Hats on display at the Borsalino Museum in Alexandria on March 28, 2023 (AFP/GABRIEL BOUYS)
The Borsalino, 180,000 of which are made each year, costs 300 euros on average, or even 1,650 euros for the most expensive, the extra-fine Panama Montecristi, which takes six months to make.
More than 2,000 iconic hats that have marked the group’s history will be exhibited at the brand new Borsalino Museum which will be inaugurated on April 4 in Alexandria, hoping to attract visitors from all over the world.
© 2023 AFP
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