Fila’s mission – ‘luxury in sports’ – is a far cry from its humble beginnings. The company was founded in Biella in 1911 and, although its Italian traditions have been key to its evolvement, Fila is now a subsidiary of large US-based conglomerate Sports Brands International (SBI).
  Starting off in the textile industry, Fila decided to consolidate its expertise in this field by moving into the sports world in 1973. The company’s most important innovation was the development of a tubular cotton rib material for tennis wear. This was followed by the introduction of coloured tennis clothing – the first non-white lines developed for the game.

  Swedish tennis star Bjorn Borg has been one of the most famous names to endorse the Fila brand. During his eleven-year career, Borg won five consecutive Wimbledon titles and six French Opens, and led Sweden to its Davis Cup victory over Czechoslovakia in 1975. Berg’s popularity was crucial in cementing the long-term success of the cotton rib. Other tennis stars to have worn the Fila logo with pride include Boris Becker, Monica Seles and Jennifer Capriati.
  Fila continued to be a major brand in tennis throughout the 1980s and 1990s, but has also made a name for itself in track and field, motorsports, baseball, basketball and soccer. It can also boast the development of a number of technologically advanced materials – such as the Speed Tech, which claims to offer lightness, rapid response and protection for sprinters, and the 3action damping system.
  The company branched out into retail in 2001 with the launch of the first ‘Fila Sport.Life Store’ in Milan, followed by similar outlets in Paris and Tokyo. The brand is now available in a staggering fifty countries worldwide.