Ermenegildo Zegna
An historic Italian fashion house that can boast about a century of successes in the precious woolen fabrics sector and in luxurious menswear and leather accessories. This is what the Ermenegildo Zegna brand has become throughout its 101 years of activity.
Founded in 1910, the Italian maison bears the name of its founder, the tailor and entrepreneur Ermenegildo Zegna, who had decided to compete with the British tailors over the men’s luxury suits market. “Stealing” them their production methods and technologies and combining them with Italian style and manufacturing tradition, Ermenegildo Zegna soon become well-known for the very high quality of its creations.
By the ’30s Ermenegildo Zegna’s fame had grown much thanks to the relationships signed with precious wools merchants from all over the world, to obtain the most refined cashmere, mohair and merino wool. South Africa, Mongolia and Australia were the favorite destinations of the Italian high-fashion stylist to look for new materials and textile solutions.
In 1942 Ermenegildo’s sons Aldo and Angelo joined the Italian brand, making it become the Ermenegildo Zegna and Sons company, and taking its whole control on 1966, after the death of their father. Their principal aim was to go on with the philosophy and style set by their predecessor, respecting the family’s tradition.
Family ownership is one of the key principles that make of Ermenegildo Zegna one of the most successful and famous Italian high-fashion houses, with the finest wool fabrics and woven available in the world, used to produce different collections of menswear, from the most elegant suits to accessories and sportswear.
Nowadays, the Ermenegildo Zegna group can count indeed four different brands: Vintage, the Ermenegildo Zegna’s top line, also known as the “Napoli Couture”; Zegna Sport, the special line that merges the quality and refined fabrics the Italian fashion house is known for, with comfort and technical design; ZZegna, a line studied for urban and modern men who wants always to look elegant and classy, launched in 2007 on the Pitti Uomo catwalks in Florence, and then gone from success to success; Su Misura is the most selective line, with made-to-measure suits destined to a strict clientele that has ordered its tailor made suit, jacket, trousers or shirt exactly responding to every need it has been expressed. Every garment of the Su Misura is unique, for that the price is 15-20% more elevated than the normal Ermenegildo Zegna creations.
The flagship of the Ermenegildo Zegna fashion house are the peculiar weaves used for its creations, from cashmere to the company’s exclusive fabric, Vellus Aurem Trophy at the base of the new concept of the Napoli Couture. The soft and resistant wools are so known that the Italian brand has been producing suits also for other famous fashion houses, from Gucci to Tom Ford or Yves Saint Laurent. These special weaves are obtained through different, exclusive and very innovative technologies such as the Supermelange, the method used by the Italian brand to obtain a special blending of colors, or the particular techniques used to treat the prestigious cashmere for the Chiavazza Line.
Given the openness of the Italian brand to the Oriental market, the E.Z. By Zegna line has been created in 1997, in cooperation with a Japanese manufacturer and with the Italian designer Alessandro Sartori. But this is not the only cooperation the Ermenegildo Zegna group has signed, having collaborated with different fashion stylist. One of the most important was signed with Salvatore Ferragamo: the high-fashion suits of Ermenegildo Zegna combined with the elevated quality of the Italian shoes provided the Zefer (the brand born from the merging between the two Italian fashion houses) customers the possibility to show a luxurious made-in-Italy total-look.
The Ermenegildo Zegna Group’s big expansion allowed it to spread its activity all around the world, opening over 550 shops in 86 countries and reaching an yearly turnover of almost 900 millions of Euros. The objective that the new leading team had in mind, of keeping high the company’s reputation and fame as a big representative of the high-made-in-Italy quality all around the world, has without any doubt been accomplished.
The Zegna group is not only engaged with fashion, but also with cultural and environment issues. The group helds the control of the Oasi Zegna, an association for environmental protection founded in 1993. Its activity goes side by side with the cultural initiatives promoted by the Fondazione Zegna, the organization created in 2000 to pursue different goals: from training young talents to supporting local development, medical and scientific research. The Italian fashion house’s commitment to every global cause is undoubtedly worth of praise.
Ermenegildo Zegna Spa.
Via Savona, 56/A
20144 Milano, Italy
Tel: [+39] 02 422091
Fax: [+39] 02 42209101
Web: www.zegna.com
ufficiostampa@zegna.com