Raphael Faccarello is a hat guy. These days, he’s a hat guy by trade, but it wasn’t always that way: he used to just be a person who couldn’t find a decent American-made cap at a reasonable price. So he designed his own and found a local milliner to help him create it.
He doesn’t have a design background, but he knew what he wanted. It had to be minimalist, with no obvious branding.
When he put his hat on, it was getting compliments left and right. Friends liked it. Strangers were asking for caps of their own. Thus, a business was born.
He calls his company Papá Originals: “Papá” because it’s an endearing term for a friend, and “Originals” because these hats are unlike any other.
Raphael moved from Europe seven years ago, where he lived in both Italy and Paris. He’s since lived in neighborhoods all over New York, but he calls Bushwick home, because he loves it here more than anywhere else—in no small part because of the pupusas from Amanda’s Kitchen, next to Maria Hernandez.
Faccarello’s signature hat is both sleek and historied. The modern day baseball cap is modeled after the style first worn by the 1860s baseball team, the Brooklyn Excelsiors. Ironically, though the style is everywhere, very few are made in Brooklyn anymore. That’s where Papá Originals comes in.
Each cap is handmade and features a classic high-front profile and wide flat brim. They’re crafted from thick cotton canvas that keep its structure, lined with pure charmeuse silk, and adorned with an oiled leather jewel.
Raphael wanted that old world look, something that harkened back to the hat that started it all. And most importantly, it had to be made in Brooklyn to honor its origins.
Get your Papá Originals cap here; Bushwick Daily readers can take 20% off with code PAPABDAILY.
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Featured image: Papa Originals founder Raphael Faccarello.
All photos by Alonzo Maciel for Bushwick Daily.