As summer starts to take shape, I find myself returning—in thought, at least—to the places in Italy I always come back to. The ones where we make our clothes. The ones where I have spent a good part of my life.
Most of what we make starts in Prato and just outside Florence. Same mills, same makers—people I have worked with for years. There is a continuity to it that I don't take lightly. You can feel it in the fabric. You can feel it in the cut.
A couple of hours from Florence, there is a town called Camogli. Small fishing village on the Ligurian coast. Not many tourists. Pebble beaches, working boats, places that haven't changed much.
Once a year, Camogli holds a fish festival in the main square. Locals fry up an extraordinary quantity of fish in an enormous pan overlooking the sea. It is one of those things that sounds almost too regional to be real—and yet there it is, every spring, exactly as it has been for decades. It is worth being there for it.
If you go, sit down at Ristorante Camogliese. Keep your order simple. Let the kitchen lead. In the morning, walk over to Latterie 1978—a proper dairy bar, unhurried, the kind of place that makes you understand what Italians mean when they talk about living well.
Late spring into early summer is the right time. The light on the water. The air coming off the Ligurian coast. You will want lightweight knits, easy fabrics that move without asking anything of you. That is what we make there—and that is what this collection is about.
Made in the same places. Worn the same way.
— Shayne
Founder, Borgo28
The Places Behind the Clothes
Borgo28 is not made in a facility you would struggle to name. The mills in Prato have been running since the medieval wool trade. The town built its identity around cloth, and it still wears that identity well. A short drive away, the workshops outside Florence carry that same inherited craft—quiet operations, expert hands, no corners cut.
This is not a marketing point. It is simply the way the collection comes to be. Fabric sourced from people who have spent lifetimes developing it. Construction by makers who understand what it means to build a garment that holds up across seasons and uses, not just a single occasion.
When we talk about Italian-made clothing at Borgo28, we mean something specific: a relationship with where things come from that shows up in how the clothes behave on your body.
Camogli is not a fashion destination. That is exactly why it matters to us.
The village does not perform for visitors. It is a working place—fishing boats in the harbour before dawn, a square that fills up for festivals and empties quietly by evening. The clothes we make for summer are meant to work that way too. Not precious. Not complicated. Easy to be in.
The Summer Collection
Six pieces from the summer collection. Each one reflects the same principle: fabric that earns its keep in warm weather, construction that does not call attention to itself, and a shape that travels well—between towns, between occasions, between morning and evening.
Striped Short-Sleeve Jersey Polo Shirt
The striped jersey polo is the piece you reach for without thinking about it. Soft jersey knit in a classic stripe, cut to sit clean across the shoulders without pulling at the chest. The short sleeve and polo collar give it enough structure to wear with trousers or linen shorts, without requiring anything more of you than that.
This is Camogli-in-the-afternoon dressing: the kind of top you put on after a swim and keep on through dinner without anyone blinking. Lightweight, breathable, effortless. Made in Italy.
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Summer Linen Short-Sleeve Sport Shirt
Pure linen in a short-sleeve sport shirt cut—the foundational summer piece. Linen breathes better than almost any other fabric in high heat, and it develops character as it wears, softening and settling in a way that synthetic blends never quite manage.
Wear it open over a tee or buttoned to the collar. Either works. The sport shirt collar gives it a slightly more polished posture than a camp collar, which means it moves easily between a casual lunch and an evening that calls for a little more intention. Made in Italy.
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Raised Stripe Long-Sleeve Sport Shirt
The raised stripe is a textile detail that works better in person than in photographs—a three-dimensional texture built into the weave that catches light without being obvious about it. At a distance, it reads as a refined stripe. Up close, there is something more interesting going on.
Long sleeves in summer sound counterintuitive until you spend time in Mediterranean light. A well-constructed linen sleeve breathes freely and provides exactly the right amount of coverage in the evening when the temperature drops off the coast. This shirt is built for that transition. Made in Italy.
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Summer Linen Long-Sleeve Sport Shirt
Where the short-sleeve linen sport shirt is about ease, the long-sleeve version is about versatility. Same fabric, same quality of construction—but the extended sleeve gives it a range that carries from a late morning in the market to a dinner where the dress code is, at best, loosely interpreted.
This is the shirt you pack when you are not entirely sure what the next few days will require. Roll the sleeves up and it is casual. Leave them down with the collar buttoned and it reads as intentional. Both are correct. Made in Italy.
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Santorini Long-Sleeve Popover Shirt
The popover is a slightly different proposition. No full button placket—just a partial opening at the collar that you slip the shirt over your head to put on. It sounds like a small thing, but it changes the way the shirt sits. The front lies flat without the visual interruption of a button line, and the result is a cleaner, more relaxed silhouette.
The Santorini version brings in a pattern inspired by the geometry of Mediterranean tile and architecture—distinct without being loud, a shirt that does some of the work for you. Long sleeves finish with adjustable barrel cuffs. Made in Italy.
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Stripe Collar Notch-Neck Polo Shirt
The notch-neck polo is a considered departure from the standard polo collar. The notch opening at the neck—a small V-shaped cut into the placket—adds a detail that reads as intentional without being decorative for its own sake. Paired with a striped collar, the result is a polo that has a point of view without overcommitting to it.
This is the piece for someone who wears polos regularly and wants one that stands apart from what everyone else in the room is wearing. Soft knit, clean fit, excellent in warm weather. Made in Italy.
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How to Wear It
Shayne's approach to summer dressing is practical. Lightweight fabrics that work across a range of temperatures. Pieces that carry from casual to not-quite-formal without requiring a complete change of clothes. Nothing that demands to be treated carefully.
For a day in the town:
The short-sleeve linen sport shirt with linen shorts and leather loafers. No socks, or socks that do not draw attention to themselves. Keep it simple.
For an evening out:
The Santorini popover with slim linen trousers. The popover's flat front makes it the more dressed-up option without requiring a jacket. Add one if the occasion calls for it.
For travelling between cities:
The long-sleeve linen sport shirt. Linen moves well in transit, releases wrinkles quickly, and does not require careful packing. Wear it, then move on.
On the Series
This is the first in an ongoing series from Shayne—part travel note, part founder's perspective, part honest account of where the clothes come from and what they are for. No editorial gloss. No styling that requires a team.
Future letters will cover other places: the makers we work with in Prato, other towns on the Italian coast, and what happens when summer ends and the collection turns toward something heavier. The writing will stay the same—direct, specific, grounded in actual experience.
If you have questions about the collection or want to know more about how something is made, you can reach us via email at customercare@borgo28.com or by calling us toll-free at 1.877.BORGO28 (877.267.4628).
Shop the full Summer collection at borgo28.com.
