Fifty-six brand guides to hats — felt-hat houses, couture milliners, cap makers and western hatters.
Hats are one of the oldest branded accessories, and several hatters have traded for centuries. These guides look at each maker and where its hats are made.
Old houses
Lock & Co has traded at 6 St James’s Street since 1676 and is described as the world’s oldest hat shop; Christys’ was founded in 1773; Mayser in Ulm in 1800; Borsalino in Alessandria in 1857; and Bollman Hat Co, which is employee-owned, runs what its guide calls America’s last start-to-finish felt-hat factory, dating to 1868.
Owners and licences
Stetson is today a licensing brand, with hats made in Texas by Hatco, which also makes Resistol. Akubra is owned by Tattarang; Maison Michel is part of Chanel’s craft network; and Motsch was bought by Hermès. Cap makers include New Era, maker of the official on-field cap of Major League Baseball, and Stormy Kromer, still made in Ironwood, Michigan.
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.
Hat houses
Borsalino, Lock & Co, Stetson, Laulhère, Akubra, Homero Ortega and Mühlbauer.
- Borsalino — The Italian felt-fedora house from Alessandria since 1857, a symbol of 20th-century elegance, revived under Haeres Equita.
- Lock & Co — The London hatter at 6 St James’s Street since 1676, the world’s oldest hat shop and originator of the bowler.
- Stetson — The American hat name behind the “Boss of the Plains” cowboy hat since 1865, today a licensing brand with hats made in Texas.
- Laulhère — The heritage French beret maker from Oloron-Sainte-Marie in Béarn, dating to around 1830 and the largest surviving French beret manufacturer.
- Akubra — The iconic Australian rabbit-fur-felt bush hat, made in Kempsey, New South Wales, and now owned by Tattarang.
- Homero Ortega — The Cuenca family house that weaves the “Panama” hat from Ecuadorian toquilla straw, a UNESCO-recognised craft.
- Mühlbauer — The Vienna hat manufactory founded in 1903 by the milliner Julianna Mühlbauer, handmaking felt and straw hats into a fourth family generation.
Felt and caps
Tonak, Mayser, Hanna Hats, Tardán, Wigéns, Smithbilt and CA4LA.
- Tonak — The Czech felt-hat house of Nový Jičín, heir to the Hückel felt tradition and one of the world’s great makers of hat bodies.
- Mayser — The German hat house founded in Ulm in 1800, now one division of a diversified industrial group, with hats designed in Lindenberg.
- Hanna Hats — The family tweed-cap maker of Donegal Town, Ireland, handmaking Irish and Harris tweed caps since 1924.
- Tardán — The historic Mexico City hatter on the Zócalo, tracing to an 1847 shop and run under the Tardán family name since 1899.
- Wigéns — The Swedish heritage cap brand founded in Tranås in 1906, designed in Sweden and made in Estonia, now part of Amanda Christensen.
- Smithbilt — The Calgary hatmaker behind the white cowboy hat, a civic symbol of the city, handcrafting Western felt hats since 1919.
- CA4LA — The Tokyo hat brand and maker (“kashira”) since 1997, designing and making hats in Japan while importing part of its range.
Hatmakers
Christys’, Goorin Bros, Grevi, Maison Michel, Fernández y Roche, Fepsa and Polkap.
- Christys’ — The London hatmaker founded in 1773, historically Britain’s great felt-hat and hat-body maker, now a consumer brand under new ownership.
- Goorin Bros — The American hatmaker and hat-shop chain founded in Pittsburgh in 1895, now run from San Francisco by the fourth generation of the Goorin family.
- Grevi — The Tuscan family hatmaker of Signa, near Florence, making straw and felt hats since 1875 and best known for women’s wide-brim straw.
- Maison Michel — The Paris luxury milliner founded in 1936, maker of couture women’s headwear, and part of Chanel’s craft network since 1996.
- Fernández y Roche — The Andalusian felt-hat maker of Salteras, near Seville, founded in 1885 and one of Spain’s last integrated felt-hat factories.
- Fepsa — The Portuguese felt-hat-body maker of São João da Madeira, a B2B supplier that makes about half the world’s fur-felt hat bodies by its own estimate.
- Polkap — The Polish felt-hat maker of Skoczów, a former Hückel factory that makes wool and fur felt hats from raw material to finished hat.
Caps, berets and felt
Kangol, Nick Fouquet, Panizza, Fléchet, Seeberger, Kijima Takayuki and Elvis Pompilio.
- Kangol — The British-heritage cap and beret brand founded in Cumbria in 1938, a hip-hop icon, now made globally rather than in the UK.
- Nick Fouquet — The self-taught Los Angeles hatmaker, founded in 2013, known for handmade felt hats with a singed brim and a matchstick in the band.
- Panizza — The fine-felt hat house founded in 1879 on Lake Maggiore, run by the Gamba family and made by hand in Tuscany.
- Fléchet — The French rabbit-felt hat name founded in 1859 in Chazelles-sur-Lyon, the French felt-hat capital, now designed and distributed by Saint-Jacques.
- Seeberger — The Bavarian headwear house founded in 1890 in Weiler im Allgäu, a full-range seasonal hat maker designed in Germany and made with global partners.
- Kijima Takayuki — The contemporary Tokyo milliner whose eponymous handmade hat brand, launched in 2013, carries the lineage of master milliner Akio Hirata.
- Elvis Pompilio — The Belgian avant-garde milliner, a 1990s international name now working as a small by-appointment atelier in Brussels.
Heritage hatters
Herbert Johnson, Bollman, Barbisio, Motsch, Boinas Elósegui, K. Dorfzaun and Cury.
- Herbert Johnson — The London hatter founded on New Bond Street in 1889, maker of the “Poet” felt hat reported to have become the Indiana Jones fedora.
- Bollman Hat Co — The employee-owned Pennsylvania hat maker running America’s last start-to-finish felt-hat factory since 1868, and a house of hat brands.
- Barbisio — The historic Biella felt-hat name founded in 1862, whose original factory closed in 1981 and which is made today at its birthplace under the Zegna group.
- Motsch — The historic Paris hatter founded in 1887, bought by Hermès in the early 1990s to save it, its name and heritage shopfront preserved within Hermès.
- Boinas Elósegui — The Basque beret maker of Tolosa, founded in 1858 and the last historic beret factory still operating in Spain.
- K. Dorfzaun — The Cuenca Panama-hat exporter built by a refugee family, working with Ecuadorian weavers of toquilla straw since 1939.
- Cury — The Brazilian felt-hat name founded in Campinas in 1920, whose factory supplied the felt body for the Indiana Jones fedora, revived today in Botucatu.
Couture milliners
Philip Treacy, Stephen Jones, Rachel Trevor-Morgan, Jane Taylor, Gigi Burris, Eric Javits and Richard Nylon.
- Philip Treacy — The Irish-born, London-based milliner regarded as the leading couture hat designer of his generation, known for sculptural headpieces.
- Stephen Jones — The influential London milliner who founded his salon in 1980 and has headed Dior’s haute-couture millinery since 1996.
- Rachel Trevor-Morgan — The London occasion milliner, granted a Royal Warrant as milliner to Queen Elizabeth II in 2014, making hats by hand in St James’s.
- Jane Taylor — The London couture milliner founded in 2004, making occasion hats and headpieces by hand in Knightsbridge, worn by British royals.
- Gigi Burris — The New York milliner making contemporary women’s hats by hand, made-to-order, in the couture-millinery tradition applied to modern wear.
- Eric Javits — The New York milliner known for luxury packable sun hats in his patented Squishee material, founded in 1985 and made both locally and globally.
- Richard Nylon — The Melbourne art-couture milliner known for sculptural, hand-made ‘wearable art’ hats, with work held by the National Gallery of Victoria.
Cap makers
Failsworth, Olney, New Era, Stormy Kromer, Ebbets Field Flannels, John Hanly and Sterkowski.
- Failsworth — The British cap maker founded in 1903 in the Manchester hatting district, best known for the English tweed flat cap.
- Olney — The Luton cap maker incorporated in 1926 as A.E. Olney & Co, a name from England’s historic hat town, now closed.
- New Era — The American cap company founded in Buffalo in 1920, maker of the 59FIFTY and the official on-field cap of Major League Baseball.
- Stormy Kromer — The American wool-cap maker whose six-panel earband cap, invented in 1903, is made in the USA in Ironwood, Michigan.
- Ebbets Field Flannels — The American maker of researched vintage-baseball wool ballcaps and flannels, founded in Seattle in 1988.
- John Hanly — The Irish woollen weaving mill of Ballyartella, County Tipperary, founded in 1893 and making tweed caps from its own cloth.
- Sterkowski — The Polish family cap workshop founded in Warsaw in 1926, reaching its centenary as a maker of flat and newsboy caps.
Western hats
American Hat Company, Resistol, Greeley Hat Works, Rand’s, Atwood, Biltmore and O’Farrell.
- American Hat Company — The Texas western-hat maker founded in 1915, handcrafting fur-felt and straw cowboy hats in Bowie, Texas, in the USA.
- Resistol — The American western-hat brand founded in 1927, made by Hatco in Garland, Texas — the same house that makes licensed Stetson hats.
- Greeley Hat Works — The Colorado custom hatter making handcrafted western hats in Greeley since 1909, run today by master hatter Trent Johnson.
- Rand’s Custom Hats — The Montana custom hatter hand-building bespoke cowboy hats in Billings since 1973, today a Tilden family company.
- Atwood Hat Company — The Texas maker of hard-working palm-leaf and straw cowboy hats, founded on a Frankston ranch in 1996.
- Biltmore — The Canadian heritage hat name founded in Guelph, Ontario, in 1917, now owned by the US firm Dorfman Pacific and made in the USA.
- O’Farrell Hat Co — The Santa Fe custom hatter hand-building fine fur-felt western hats in New Mexico, widely reported to have made hats for US presidents.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Akubra | 1876 (Australia) | See guide | Kempsey, NSW |
| American Hat Company | 1915 (USA) | See guide | Bowie, Texas |
| Atwood Hat Company | 1996 (USA) | See guide | Frankston, Texas |
| Barbisio | 1862 (Italy) | See guide | Sagliano Micca |
| Biltmore | 1917 (Canada) | See guide | US (Dorfman) |
| Boinas Elósegui | 1858 (Spain) | See guide | Tolosa |
| Bollman Hat Co | 1868 (USA) | See guide | Adamstown, PA (+ imports) |
| Borsalino | 1857 (Italy) | See guide | Alessandria area |
| CA4LA | See guide | See guide | Japan (+ imports) |
| Christys’ | 1773 (England) | See guide | UK (most felt) |
| Cury | 1920 (Brazil) | See guide | Brazil (Botucatu) |
| Ebbets Field Flannels | 1988 (USA) | See guide | USA heritage |
| Elvis Pompilio | 1987 (Belgium) | See guide | Brussels |
| Eric Javits | 1985 (USA) | See guide | Local & global |
| Failsworth | 1903 (England) | See guide | Manchester / Oldham |
| Fepsa | 1969 (Portugal) | See guide | São João da Madeira |
| Fernández y Roche | 1885 (Spain) | See guide | Salteras, Seville |
| Fléchet | 1859 (France) | See guide | France (stated) |
| Gigi Burris | c.2011 (USA) | See guide | New York City |
| Goorin Bros | 1895 (USA) | See guide | Imported + NJ |
| Greeley Hat Works | 1909 (USA) | See guide | Greeley, Colorado |
| Grevi | 1875 (Italy) | See guide | Signa, Florence |
| Hanna Hats | 1924 (Ireland) | See guide | Donegal Town |
| Herbert Johnson | 1889 (England) | See guide | UK workshops |
| Homero Ortega | See guide | See guide | Cuenca, Ecuador |
| Jane Taylor | 2004 (England) | See guide | Knightsbridge, London |
| John Hanly | 1893 (Ireland) | See guide | Nenagh, Tipperary |
| K. Dorfzaun | 1939 (Ecuador) | See guide | Cuenca |
| Kangol | 1938 (England) | See guide | Global (not UK) |
| Kijima Takayuki | See guide | See guide | Tokyo |
| Laulhère | ~1830 (France) | See guide | Oloron-Sainte-Marie |
| Lock & Co | 1676 (England) | See guide | See guide |
| Maison Michel | 1936 (France) | See guide | Paris |
| Mayser | 1800 (Germany) | See guide | Europe (Slovakia) |
| Motsch | 1887 (France) | See guide | Paris (Hermès) |
| Mühlbauer | 1903 (Austria) | See guide | Vienna |
| New Era | 1920 (USA) | See guide | Overseas (HQ Buffalo) |
| Nick Fouquet | 2013 (USA) | See guide | Venice, LA |
| Olney | 1926 (England) | See guide | Luton (closed) |
| O’Farrell Hat Co | ~1979 (USA) | See guide | Santa Fe, New Mexico |
| Panizza | 1879 (Italy) | See guide | Montevarchi, Tuscany |
| Philip Treacy | See guide | See guide | London atelier |
| Polkap | See guide | See guide | Skoczów |
| Rachel Trevor-Morgan | 1990 (England) | See guide | St James’s, London |
| Rand’s Custom Hats | 1973 (USA) | See guide | Billings, Montana |
| Resistol | 1927 (USA) | See guide | Garland, Texas |
| Richard Nylon | 1997 (Australia) | See guide | Melbourne |
| Seeberger | 1890 (Germany) | See guide | Allgäu + partners |
| Smithbilt | 1919 (Canada) | See guide | Calgary, Alberta |
| Stephen Jones | 1980 (England) | See guide | London atelier |
| Sterkowski | 1926 (Poland) | See guide | Warsaw |
| Stetson | 1865 (USA) | See guide | Garland, Texas (licensed) |
| Stormy Kromer | 1903 (USA) | See guide | Ironwood, Michigan |
| Tardán | See guide | See guide | Mexico City |
| Tonak | See guide | See guide | Nový Jičín, CZ |
| Wigéns | 1906 (Sweden) | See guide | Estonia |
Frequently asked questions
What is the world’s oldest hat shop?
Lock & Co of St James’s Street, London, trading since 1676, according to our guide.
Who makes Stetson hats?
Stetson is today a licensing brand; our guides report that Hatco in Texas makes licensed Stetson hats as well as Resistol.
Part of our Fashion & Apparel brand guidelines. See also all collections.