Barbisio

Barbisio was an italian hat factory founded in 1862 in Sagliano Micca (Vercelli). Along with Borsalino, it is the most famous brand. Its men’s hats, all hand-made of soft felt of very fine quality, are known by the motto “Barbisio, a name, a brand, a guarantee.” In the 1940s and ’50s, with a return to male elegance inspired by Anglo-Saxon fashion, the hats with a rigid brim met with great success.
Barbisio hats, along with the two other brands controlled by owner Giorgio Borrione, Bantam and Cappellificio Cervo, have a new showroom on via Mazzini in Milan.
At Pitti Uomo the firm presents three different models of Panama hat manufactured in Ecuador using “toquilla,” a particular variety of elastic and shiny straw obtained from the leaves of the Carludovica Palmata, or Panama hat palm, a plant typical of Ecuador.