Heritage
A house, in its own words
Giuseppe Borsalino was born in Italy in 1834 and opened his first hat atelier in Alessandria, Piedmont, in 1888. Within decades, the Borsalino name became synonymous with Italian sophistication. The brand's fedora and felt hats dressed cinema legends, writers, and statesmen. Hollywood's golden age cemented Borsalino as the hat of choice for characters who meant business, romance, or trouble. The fragrance arm, Borsalino Profumi, launched in 1983 with the original Borsalino scent for men. A year later came Borsalino Uomo. The house continued releasing gender-specific fragrances through the 1990s and 2000s, including Donna (1995), L'Altro (1994), and Chapeau (1997). The Pour Elle sub-line arrived in 2008, expanding the offering for women. La Vie en Rose and La Vie en Blue marked 2011 as a particularly active year. ChimHaeres Investment Holding acquired the brand and, in recent years, partnered with Paris-based Perfume Street (founded by Arthur Cukier) to reintroduce Borsalino fragrances under licensing. This partnership produced the B&W Collection, with Black Iris and White Iris arriving in 2025, signaling a renewed fragrance strategy for the house. Borsalino approaches fragrance the same way it approaches hat-making: with obsessive attention to form and material. Each scent carries the house's identity without literal translation of hats into bottles. The philosophy centers on timelessness over trend. The perfumery aims to offer an immersive sensory experience that extends the brand's craftsmanship beyond accessories. Rather than chasing seasonal notes or novelty ingredients, Borsalino fragrances tend toward established accords with a distinctly Italian sensibility. The 2025 B&W Collection demonstrates this with iris as a central pillar, a nod to the house's commitment to quality materials and refined expression. What distinguishes Borsalino is its refusal to shout. The fragrances communicate confidence through restraint, echoing the quiet authority of a perfectly crafted hat. This is perfumery for those who recognize quality without needing it announced.