BARBISIO Brothers

[EL-Jimenez74]

Thanks for the info @jeffgarf and @steur I appreciate it.

 

[Daniele Tanto]

Jeff and Stefan’s explanations are accurate and provide a precise picture of the Barbisio brand.
It is likely that the brand was licensed out before Barbisio ceased operations around 1980–81. It is probable that a South American importer offered to handle production themselves and sell the hats under the Barbisio name by securing a license.
A similar situation occurred with Borsalino, which licensed its brand to Bolmann.
The late seventies and early eighties were a very difficult period for the Italian hat-making industry, and these were the consequences.

Thanks for the info @jeffgarf and @steur I appreciate it.

A small personal note: it is fairly easy to distinguish "original" Barbisio hats from those manufactured by the Cervo hat factory over the last fifty years or so.

 

[EL-Jimenez74]

Jeff and Stefan’s explanations are accurate and provide a precise picture of the Barbisio brand.
It is likely that the brand was licensed out before Barbisio ceased operations around 1980–81. It is probable that a South American importer offered to handle production themselves and sell the hats under the Barbisio name by securing a license.
A similar situation occurred with Borsalino, which licensed its brand to Bolmann.
The late seventies and early eighties were a very difficult period for the Italian hat-making industry, and these were the consequences.

A small personal note: it is fairly easy to distinguish "original" Barbisio hats from those manufactured by the Cervo hat factory over the last fifty years or so.

How can you identify thse made by Cervo vs "original" Barbisio hats? Thanks

 

[Daniele Tanto]

How can you identify thse made by Cervo vs "original" Barbisio hats? Thanks

This is a Barbisio made by Cappellificio Cervo. You see no trademark on the lining and some others details in finishing and constructions.
The main point is that a soft bowler hat constructed in this way—with very vague details, straddling the line between feminine and masculine, and featuring colors far removed from classic Barbisio styles—is quite distinct.

This is a classic Barbisio in terms of its shape, color, details, and construction. You can see that quite clearly.
One of my favourite

Important note: The Cervo hat factory produced magnificent Barbisio hats; even as late as the 1980s and 1990s, some of their pieces were truly superb. It should be noted that Cervo always manufactured its own felt in-house and leveraged the remaining materials and the expertise of the former Barbisio workforce—after all, the two facilities are located just three hundred meters apart in the Cervo Valley.