Forty-nine brand guides to gloves and socks — glovemakers, sport and work gloves, and sock mills.
Gloves and socks are made in a few historic centres and a lot of offshore factories, and these guides set out which is which.
Glove towns
Dress gloves cluster in old glove towns: Millau, where Causse Gantier has made gloves since 1892 and has been owned by Chanel since 2012; Saint-Junien, home of Agnelle; Naples’ Rione Sanità, where Omega Napoli works; and Gloversville, New York, whose tradition Daniel Storto revived. Dents, founded in 1777, made the 1953 coronation glove.
Sport, work and socks
Sport gloves include Rawlings, official baseball supplier of the major leagues; Cleto Reyes, handmade in Mexico; and Reusch, which invented the modern goalkeeper glove in 1973. Work-glove makers range from Wells Lamont, a Marmon/Berkshire Hathaway company, to Showa in Himeji. Darn Tough knits its socks in its own Vermont mills, and Corgi holds a Royal Warrant for its hand-linked socks made in Wales.
How to use these guides
Each guide covers who owns the name today, where the products are made — by the maker’s own account and, where it differs, by other sources — and the brand’s visual identity. A company’s description of itself is attributed to the company, and where a business has closed we say so plainly. The table at the end gathers the essentials.
Glovemakers
Dents, Agnelle, Sermoneta, Hestra, Roeckl, Geier and Swany.
- Dents — The English glovemaker founded in 1777, maker of the 1953 coronation glove for Queen Elizabeth II and glovemaker to the King.
- Agnelle — The French luxury glovemaker of Saint-Junien since 1937, a family firm making gloves by hand in France for its own name and the couture houses.
- Sermoneta — The Rome glovemaker founded at the Spanish Steps in 1960, famous for pioneering bright, colourful Made-in-Italy leather gloves.
- Hestra — The Swedish family glove specialist founded in 1936, known for ski and outdoor gloves, designed in Sweden and made in its own factories abroad.
- Roeckl — The Munich glovemaker founded in 1839, a family firm into its sixth generation, designed in Germany and with leather gloves made in Romania.
- Geier Glove Company — The American leather-glove maker of Centralia, Washington, founded by the Geier brothers in 1927 and made in the USA.
- Swany — The Japanese glove house of Higashikagawa, Japan’s glove capital, founded in 1937, designing in Kagawa and making in its own Asian factories.
Sport gloves
Rawlings, Cleto Reyes, Reusch, Alpinestars, Winning, Fairtex and Gray-Nicolls.
- Rawlings — The American baseball-glove maker founded in St. Louis in 1887, the official baseball supplier of the major leagues and creator of the Gold Glove Award.
- Cleto Reyes — The Mexican boxing-glove house handmade in Mexico, founded by leather craftsman Cleto Reyes Castro, whose gloves debuted in a 1945 world-title fight.
- Reusch — The German-founded sport glove maker of goalkeeper and ski gloves, which invented the modern goalkeeper glove in 1973 and is now Italian family-owned.
- Alpinestars — The Italian motorsport gear maker founded in Asolo in 1963, whose racing gloves and Tech-Air airbag are designed in Italy and made largely in Asia.
- Winning — The Japanese boxing-glove house founded in Tokyo in 1937, made in Japan and prized for the protective, plush glove favoured by elite boxers.
- Fairtex — The Thai Muay Thai and boxing equipment house, handcrafted in Thailand and run by the Busarakamwongse family, with an equipment heritage to 1971.
- Gray-Nicolls — The English cricket outfitter formed by the 1940s merger of Nicolls and Gray, whose bats are made in Robertsbridge and whose gloves are a core line.
Glove towns
Causse Gantier, Omega Napoli, Southcombe, Daniel Storto, Watson, Eska and Hamerli.
- Causse Gantier — The Millau ganterie founded in 1892, making fine leather gloves in France’s historic glove capital and owned by Chanel since 2012 through its Paraffection craft division.
- Omega Napoli — The Naples glove house founded by the Squillace family in 1923, hand-making leather gloves in the city’s historic Rione Sanità glove district for five generations.
- Southcombe — The Somerset glove house dating to 1847, a fifth-generation family firm in England’s historic glove country that runs its own tannery and glove factory at Stoke-sub-Hamdon.
- Daniel Storto — The bespoke glovemaker who revived Gloversville, New York’s glove-making legacy, hand-cutting and hand-sewing gloves by his own hand in America’s old Glove City.
- Watson Gloves — The Canadian glove house founded in Vancouver in 1918, a family-run maker that still crafts some gloves in its own Canadian factory while sourcing the rest globally.
- Eska — The Austrian glove specialist founded in 1912, a fourth-generation family firm that develops ski, sport and protective gloves in Austria.
- Hamerli — The Hungarian glove house whose tradition dates, according to the house, to 1861 in Pécs, hand-making table-cut leather gloves in the city’s Zsolnay quarter.
Work and safety gloves
Wells Lamont, Superior Glove, Rostaing, Granberg, Showa, Uvex and Polyco.
- Wells Lamont — The American work-glove maker founded in 1907, now a Marmon/Berkshire Hathaway company, whose gloves are designed in the USA and largely imported, with a niche of US-knit cut-resistant lines.
- Superior Glove — The Canadian safety-glove maker in Acton, Ontario since 1910, a Geng-family firm that makes a Made-in-Canada range at home while running its own factory in Honduras.
- Rostaing — The French protective-glove maker whose family leather lineage dates to a 1789 tannery, with the glove business begun in 1959 and manufacturing split between France and offshore sites.
- Granberg — The Norwegian protective-glove house founded in 1961 by Paul Granberg in Bjoa, a family firm that designs and tests in Norway while manufacturing offshore.
- Showa — The Japanese work-glove maker founded in Himeji in 1954, a genuine manufacturer of coated grip gloves across plants in Japan and Southeast Asia.
- Uvex — The German safety-equipment maker founded in Fürth in 1926, whose own safety gloves are genuinely made in Germany, now majority-owned by Warburg Pincus with the founding families a minority.
- Polyco — The British industrial work-glove brand of Polyco Healthline, an active UK company whose grip and rigger gloves are designed in Britain and manufactured offshore.
Gloves around the world
Suixtil, Juba, Mortels, Pivvee, Mallcom, Xingyu and Luvaria Ulisses.
- Suixtil — The Argentine motor-racing heritage name founded in 1930s Buenos Aires and revived decades later, whose string-back driving gloves are now run from Hong Kong with manufacture undisclosed.
- Juba — The Spanish work-glove maker in La Rioja, trading since 1954 by its own account, now owned by the Bunzl group, with the country of manufacture of its PPE gloves undisclosed.
- Mortels — The Australian family sheepskin house making gloves in Thornton, New South Wales since 1958, hand-assembled in Australia from globally sourced hides.
- Pivvee — The design-led Seoul golf-lifestyle brand whose hero product is the sheepskin golf glove, founded around 2019 and designed in Korea with manufacture undisclosed.
- Mallcom — The listed Indian PPE maker founded in Kolkata in 1983, a genuine made-in-India glove manufacturer that has exported leather and knitted gloves for decades.
- Xingyu — The Chinese work-glove maker founded in Shandong in 1992, a named brand producing protective gloves at industrial scale in the country where most of the world’s gloves are made.
- Luvaria Ulisses — Portugal’s last dedicated glove shop, a 1925 Lisbon atelier hand-fitting fine leather gloves in a tiny Art-Deco kiosk in Chiado.
Socks
Darn Tough, Wigwam, Thorlos, Corgi, Pantherella, Falke and Bonne Maison.
- Darn Tough — The merino performance sock knit in Vermont, in its own mills, with an unconditional lifetime guarantee.
- Wigwam — The American sock maker knitting in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, a family firm for around 120 years.
- Thorlos — The North Carolina maker that pioneered the anatomically padded activity sock, made in Statesville.
- Corgi Socks — The luxury hand-linked sock maker of Ammanford, Wales, a six-generation family firm holding a Royal Warrant.
- Pantherella — The fine-gauge English dress-sock maker of Leicester, among the last major makers of its kind.
- Falke — The German family hosiery house of Schmallenberg, a premium maker of fine socks and legwear since 1895.
- Bonne Maison — The French maker of art-led patterned cotton socks, mostly made in France with a part in Portugal.
Combat-sports gloves
Everlast, Twins Special, Yokkao, Venum, Hayabusa, Rival Boxing and Sanabul.
- Everlast — The 1910 boxing heritage brand, now owned by Frasers Group, whose heavy bags are made in Missouri while most gear is produced internationally by licensees.
- Twins Special — The family-owned Thai Muay Thai gear maker, founded 1992, whose BGVL sparring gloves are handcrafted at its own factory in Samut Sakhon, Thailand.
- Yokkao — The Thai-Italian Muay Thai brand founded in 2010 by Philip Villa, whose premium gloves are hand-crafted at its own factory in Samut Prakan, Thailand.
- Venum — The independent French fight brand founded in 2006, the UFC’s exclusive outfitter through 2029, with gear made in Asia and premium gloves hand-sewn in Thailand.
- Hayabusa — The Kingston, Ontario fight brand founded in 2006, now US private-equity owned, known for its patented T3 gloves, designed in Canada and made in Asia.
- Rival Boxing — The Canadian boxing-gear brand founded in 2003 by cutman Russ Anber, designed in Montreal and made in Asia, worn by champions from Usyk to Lomachenko.
- Sanabul — The founder-led California combat-sports brand founded in 2014, an Amazon-native value maker of striking gloves and BJJ gis, designed in the US and made overseas.
At a glance: who owns the name and where it is made
Taken from each guide’s fact panel, as of October 2026. Ownership and production change; follow the link for sources and detail.
| Brand | Founded | Owner | Where made |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agnelle | 1937 (France) | See guide | Saint-Junien |
| Alpinestars | 1963 (Italy) | See guide | Largely Asia |
| Bonne Maison | France (Annecy / Paris) | Independent | Mostly France + Portugal |
| Causse Gantier | 1892 (Millau, France) | See guide | Millau, France |
| Cleto Reyes | 1945 (Mexico) | See guide | Mexico |
| Corgi Socks | 1892 (Ammanford, Wales) | Jones family (6 gen) | Wales, UK |
| Daniel Storto | c. 2001 (Gloversville, NY) | See guide | Gloversville, USA |
| Darn Tough | 1978 (mill) (Northfield, VT) | Cabot family | Vermont, USA |
| Dents | 1777 (England) | See guide | Warminster (Heritage) |
| Eska | 1912 (Austria) | See guide | Developed in Austria |
| Everlast | 1910 | Frasers Group | See guide |
| Fairtex | 1971 (Thailand) | See guide | Thailand |
| Falke | 1895 (Schmallenberg) | Falke family (4th gen) | Germany / Europe |
| Geier Glove Company | 1927 (USA) | See guide | Centralia, WA |
| Granberg | 1961 (Bjoa, Norway) | See guide | Norway-designed; offshore |
| Gray-Nicolls | See guide | See guide | Robertsbridge (bats) |
| Hamerli | 1861 (Pécs, Hungary) | See guide | Pécs, Hungary |
| Hayabusa | 2006 | US private equity | See guide |
| Hestra | 1936 (Sweden) | See guide | Own factories abroad |
| Juba | 1954 (La Rioja, Spain) | See guide | Undisclosed; offshore |
| Luvaria Ulisses | 1925 (Lisbon, Portugal) | See guide | Lisbon, Portugal |
| Mallcom | 1983 (Kolkata, India) | See guide | India |
| Mortels | 1958 (NSW, Australia) | See guide | Australia; hides imported |
| Omega Napoli | 1923 (Naples, Italy) | See guide | Naples, Italy |
| Pantherella | 1937 (Leicester) | Private (independent) | England |
| Pivvee | c. 2019 (Seoul, Korea) | See guide | Designed in Seoul |
| Polyco | 1986 (Bourne, England) | See guide | British brand; offshore |
| Rawlings | 1887 (USA) | See guide | Offshore (Asia) |
| Reusch | 1934 (Germany) | See guide | Not disclosed |
| Rival Boxing | 2003 | Canadian, independent | See guide |
| Roeckl | 1839 (Germany) | See guide | Romania |
| Rostaing | 1959 (Lyon region, France) | See guide | France + offshore |
| Sanabul | 2014 | Independent | See guide |
| Sermoneta | 1960 (Italy) | See guide | Italy |
| Showa | 1954 (Himeji, Japan) | See guide | Japan + SE Asia |
| Southcombe | 1847 (Somerset, England) | See guide | Somerset + sourced |
| Suixtil | 1930 (Buenos Aires, AR) | See guide | Undisclosed (HK-run) |
| Superior Glove | 1910 (Acton, Canada) | See guide | Canada + Honduras |
| Swany | 1937 (Japan) | See guide | China & Cambodia |
| Thorlos | 1940s (roots) (Statesville, NC) | Thorneburg family | North Carolina, USA |
| Twins Special | 1992 | Family, independent | See guide |
| Uvex | 1926 (Fürth, Germany) | See guide | Germany |
| Venum | 2006 | Independent | See guide |
| Watson Gloves | 1918 (Vancouver, Canada) | See guide | Canada + sourced |
| Wells Lamont | 1907 (Aberdeen, USA) | See guide | Designed in USA; imported |
| Wigwam | 1905 (Sheboygan, WI) | Chesebro family | Wisconsin, USA |
| Winning | 1937 (Japan) | See guide | Japan (Fukushima) |
| Xingyu | 1992 (Shandong, China) | See guide | China |
| Yokkao | 2010 | Independent | See guide |
Frequently asked questions
Who owns Causse Gantier?
Chanel, since 2012, according to our guide.
Who invented the modern goalkeeper glove?
Reusch, in 1973, according to our guide.
See also our hat and umbrella brand guidelines.
Part of our Fashion & Apparel brand guidelines. See also all collections.