Italian hat maker to the stars faces liquidation

Borsalino, the Italian hat company behind Humphrey Bogart's fedora in Casablanca and Harrison Ford's lucky headgear in the Indiana Jones movies, faces liquidation after a rescue plan was rejected by a court on Monday.

A judge in the northern town of Alessandria, where the luxury hat maker was founded 160 years ago, refused a request for court protection from creditors, who are owed some €18 million (S$28.6 million), a local trade union leader said.

Borsalino, whose hats have been worn by celebrities such as the late Michael Jackson, Pharrell Williams and Rihanna, ran into financial difficulties after posting a large loss in 2013.