Zegna has a distinctive way of approaching key business decisions, whether that’s a seamless pivot from suiting to luxe athleisure or creating a blueprint for sustainable practices. The iconic Italian label, founded 110 years ago, continues to prove in numerous ways that change is not only constant, it is the very definition of success. That’s what makes this century-old (still family-owned) brand’s rise and rise in the hype era an interesting trajectory to track. In its newest statement of purpose, Zegna promises to certify its Oasi Cashmere fibres as 100% traceable by 2024. No small feat at their scale.
“I think there’s going to come a time very soon when buyers are not going to agree to acquire anything unless it is completely traceable.” Alessandro Sartori, 57, artistic director at Zegna, tells us about the rising importance of a digital passport for luxury goods. Along with waste reduction at pattern-cutting stages, buy-back schemes and keeping collections circular, increasingly luxury and conscious brands are waking up to the importance of traceability. In layman’s terms, this means keeping a strict check on the lifecycle of every product. Every step of the supply chain is under the brand’s purview to rule out material manipulation and ensure fair labour practices.
Collaboration > Competition
After launching a line of hand-woven, hyper-coloured cashmere pieces in partnership with Los Angeles-based brand, The Elder Statesman (TES) in Los Angeles and Chengdu in China, Sartori is in Singapore to introduce this special line to the APAC market. Dressed in an all-black turtleneck, trousers, and smart jacket look from the Oasi Zegna collection, he met us at the iconic Fullerton Hotel. It is F1 season, and all the key landmarks, including the F1 track, the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, and the Singapore Eye, are visible from his suite as he paces the room. His energy matches the city’s current cacophonous reverberation. Zegna is hosting a viewing party for the F1 race to celebrate the launch of this special collaborative collection.
Alliances are key for brands right now, and in his six years direct-ing the brand, this is only his third. “Apart from aesthetics, values have to align for a collaboration to be authentic.” Sartori shares. Greg Chait, founder of so-cal label The Elder Statesman, was introduced to him via friends, and the two continued to meet informally for a year until an organic idea of collaboration came to mind. The capsule collection is a mix of retro-mod coats, jackets, oversized knits, corduroy-inspired trousers and beanies in lilac, orange, vicuna and plant green. It marries the seamless, gentlemanly Italian touch of Zegna with the nonchalant ease of TES.
True Luxury
As Indians, we understand the value of our own pashmina; after all, pure cashmere shawls are passed on from mothers to daughters across generations. But how does such a warm yarn figure in separates for tropical climates like India and Singapore? “ Our cashmere is 260 grams, very close to the weight of a shirt.” Sartori is quick to clarify. Besides, for a passport-at-the-ready generation, double-duty pieces are of the essence.Given Zegna’s textile prowess and legacy mills, they could invest in any material in a post-work-suit/post-covid world, but cashmere makes the cut because it is a true luxury. While many luxury houses justify high prices due to their storied legacies and brand name, Zegna insists on it via rare materials, made in an eco-conscious and fair way.
Forest Of The Future
Located within the Biellese Alps in Piedmont, Northern Italy, is Oasi Zegna — the brand’s natural reserve. It’s a 100 sq km of green stretch, surrounding the Trivero, the brand’s starting point – their original wool mill. Ermenegildo Zegna, a true visionary and father of the brand, was clear that if they were to take from the environment, they’d have to give back in equal measure, too. A mindful and regenerative approach towards the planet and the community that worked with him and bought from him was paramount to his business philosophy long before it was popular to do so.
Zegna planted half a million conifer trees across the mountains surrounding his wool mill, and today, this green space is 30 times the size of New York’s sprawling Central Park. It has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site and welcomes families and children for various activities such as bird watching, hiking and cycling. Most importantly to the brand, it is also the nucleus of their inspiration, a living testament to their founder’s brand philosophy and a spiritual oasis.
“We’ve seen this happen in the food world. Each item in the supermarket now contains information on where it was grown, sourced, made and packaged. It is now fashion’s turn to be completely transparent,” Sartori says. To that end, Zegna buys all of its Mongolian wool straight from select farmers, but from then- the cleaning, washing, spinning, weaving, and finally fashioning them in actual zeitgeist-defining looks happens at their mills and ateliers.
In 2019, Zegna signed the Fashion Pact, whose main objectives are to tackle climate change, restore biodiversity and protect the ocean, alongside sever-al luxury houses like Chanel and Burberry. Zegna also launched the #UseTheExisting campaign to focus on giving a new lease of life to old and discarded fabrics, surplus fibres, as well as offcuts.
#ELLEStyleCheck: Alessandro Sartori
ELLE: Who are the three most well-dressed men in the world?
AS: Mads Mikkelsen, Cillian Murphy, Kieran Culkin
ELLE: What constitutes the perfect capsule ward-robe for men?
AS: A cashmere overshirt and knit, a linen workwear jacket and Zegna’s triple stitch shoe.
Read the full story on ELLE India’s new issue or download your digital copy via Magzter.
