In the early Eighties, a group of friends on the island of Elba started to assemble, almost by chance, belts and bags in natural cowhide and recycled materials. They created handmade, unique and now-legendary items like the Spazzatura belt, decorated with recycled waste, the Tribù belt, embroidered with a family of stylized stick figures, and the collection made using recycled cans commissioned by Comme de Garcons. This entertaining pastime took a serious turn, and the Henry Beguelin brand was born; however its spirit has never changed: objects crafted by hand with ancient mastery, timeless pieces that are always current because they go beyond the concept of short-lived “fads” to become the expression of real luxury.

This is the brand’s true calling: creating luxury, not fashion. This means unique vegetal-tanned leathers that are specially chosen and exquisitely cut, fashioned, assembled and stitched by the expert hands of about 40 craftsmen at two workshops, on the island of Elba and in Vigevano.

At first the company mainly produced belts, a few handbags and some small leather goods. Soon it added shoes, boxes and a few leather baskets, and then furniture. Recently the collections have expanded to include clothing and cashmere knitwear. The hallmark of the Henry Beguelin world is the miniature stick figure hand embroidered in the special waxed thread utilized to sew all the company’s products, the very same symbol that decorated the original belts of the eighties. The eloquent ideogram that distinguishes every Henry Beguelin product has become a full-fledged seal of authenticity, quality and craftsmanship. But that’s not all. This stylized symbol alludes to the metropolitan tribe united by a taste for the unique and the natural, a tribe that chooses Henry Beguelin as a significant manifestation of these qualities.