Aurega is a family story. Founded in 2010 by Vincent Rességuier and his mother Danielle Garrigues, the house settled in L’Honor-de-Cos, in the Tarn-et-Garonne. It is there, among the hills of the Quercy, that the heart of our work beats today.
From 2020 onwards, we developed a French manufacturing workshop on site. Some of our models are born there; others come to us from partner houses, notably in Italy, while our genuine panamas are woven in Ecuador from paja toquilla, in the traditional way. Every hat thus carries the mark of a precise craft, wherever it first took shape.
The material comes first
Everything begins with the material. Cones of woven straw, felts, fabrics: each piece is chosen by hand, examined in full light, touched. It is by touch that one senses whether a fibre will accept the shape it is to be given, and whether it will keep its hold through the seasons.
Then comes the blocking. Under the effect of steam, the fibre softens and lets itself be guided. The artisan sets the cone on the block, adjusts it, smooths it with the flat of the hand. A few minutes are enough for the crown to find its curve — but it takes years to learn to feel the right moment.
The patience of the hand
The trimming closes the chapter. The grosgrain that circles the crown, the inner lining, the even line of stitching: these details that go unnoticed make all the difference when a hat is worn from morning to night. They call for calm, a sure needle, and that taste for well-finished work which passes from one generation to the next.
“A successful hat is one you forget you are wearing.”
From the workshop, our hats then travel to the partner hatters and boutiques that keep the house alive across France. That is where the story continues: in the mirror, at the moment of the fitting, when a hat finally finds its head.
