The company’s history began in 1911 in Biella, a famous textile district, by Giovanni Fila and his 11 children. The company first took the name of “Maglificio Biellese” (hence a product line called “Maby”) and then “Fratelli Fila”; the initial activity was linked to weaving and carded wool spinning. In 1926, it decided to produce the first line of underwear and knitwear for men, women and children. Until the Second World War, the company expanded throughout the country for high-quality fabrics; in the 1950s, the factory became a manufacturing giant specializing in the design of underwear. The first “Fratelli Fila” logo consisted of the writing on one line and, in the absence of graphic rules, it appeared both in capital letters and in italics.
In 1950, the logo appeared, consisting of the logo whose initial “F” extends to the center of the globe with the payoff “laniere industries”. At the beginning of the Seventies, the company expanded its range of products to include sports clothing, starting with tennis with cotton t-shirts and shorts that, in terms of lines and colors, immediately distanced themselves from the traditional ones, always strictly white.
Riding the wave of international success, in 1973 the company commissioned graphic designer Sergio Privitera to design the new logo, called “F-box”: in a blue box the red and blue letter “F” with the corresponding logotype with the letters created in a coordinated way; red was a symbol of vitality, aggressiveness and rigor while blue was a symbol of loyalty and reliability. With this brand with simple and immediate features, in the second half of the Seventies sponsorships began in the sports field, especially in tennis, and Fila began to dress the most famous athletes of those years such as Giullermo Vilas and Adriano Panatta; in 1974 Fila became the official sponsor of the Swedish tennis player Björn Borg, reaching the peak of success. Then came the debut in skiing through the collaboration with the Swedish champion Ingemar Stenmark but also, in the following years, with the Italians Alberto Tomba and Deborah Compagnoni. In 1978 Fila accompanied Reinhold Messner in the historic feat of climbing Everest without oxygen; in 1999 it also launched pioneering initiatives such as sponsoring the sailor Giovanni Soldini in his solo round-the-world trip.
Fila had expanded into too many product categories and was not big enough to compete with the American giants in the sports shoe market; over time, the fragmentation of Fila ownership weakened the brand’s identity, resulting in the loss of its original vision. Since 2007, it has been owned by the “Fila Korea” group based in Seoul; visual communication is entrusted to the logo alone. In 2010, the “Fila Museum Foundation” was born with the main purpose of promoting, spreading and making known the value and history of the Biella brand, from its local origins to its global fame in the field of sports clothing and footwear. 2021 is the year of unusual collaborations thanks to co-marketing operations with Coca Cola or Fendi.
