Biltmore

History

The Biltmore brand has come a long way since it was established in 1917. The company first started in Guelph, Canada and became known for its luxurious hats. By 1950, the brand had achieved a dominant role in the Canadian hat Industry. After 95 years in Canada, the Biltmore brand moved to the United States after Dorfman Pacific purchased the company in 2011. A year later the Milano Hat Company, a subsidiary of Dorfman Pacific, began to manufacture Biltmore hats, keeping the same styles and quality that were made in Canada.

For one hundred years, Biltmore Hats has remained the pinnacle of quality, no matter the hat style. From its beginnings in Niagara Falls as the Fried Hat Company to its home in Guelph, Ontario; Biltmore has offered unmistakable craftsmanship to its customers and clients. Named after New York’s Biltmore Hotel, the company’s owners attempted to live up to the standard of luxury and style the hotel represented.

Biltmore covered its hats in felt made from rabbit pelt. The process of turning fur into felt was repeated many times for each hat in order the achieve the best possible quality felt. Those painstakingly constructed felt hats allowed Biltmore to survive, relatively unscathed, through The Great Depression and WWII.