Time to tell the story: Zegna goes big at Milan Design Week 

WE ARE in a room covered wall-to-wall with heavily bound volumes holding records of fabrics and accompanying swatches from 1859 to the present day, as well as boxes containing little notebooks detailing the “recipes” for fabrics – all taken down in neat, almost print-like handwriting.

The room is the heart of Casa Zegna, a 1930s building in Trivero Valdilana, in the Piedmont region of northern Italy, that was once the family home of Ermenegildo Zegna, founder of the eponymous label. Located next to the Zegna wool mill, Casa Zegna is today a historical archive and cultural centre that tracks the story of the famous Italian luxury menswear brand born in 1910.

Those familiar with the brand already know Zegna for its understated luxury before quiet luxury became a thing. What many do not know, however, is that its roots in sustainability are also deep. They started some 100 years ago – long before environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues became a thing.

Zegna’s third- and fourth-generation family members who now run the company have decided that it is time to let the world know about its social and environmental legacy – which continues today – and its vertically integrated production system.

And how better than to do it with a tome, Born in Oasi Zegna, launched alongside multiple activations during Milan Design Week – the most important design event in the world.

Oasi Zegna

After Zegna founded his wool mill in the town of Trivero in the Italian Alps, he set out to overtake British supremacy in woollen fabric production, delving deep into textile research and development. A key to his success lies in the quality of the local water – its very low mineral content makes it perfect for washing wool and making it extremely soft.

Forward-thinking and enterprising, he put his label on the fabrics he made; advertising and exporting them, so the Zegna name spread and became associated with top quality.

Over the years, historic Italian fabric producers were also acquired, each specialising in its own product segment, to create an Italian-made luxury textile laboratory platform while protecting Italian craftsmanship and supply chain. The company also owns its own merino wool farm in New South Wales, Australia, taking direct responsibility for one of its primary raw materials, and ensuring that its woollen products go from sheep to shop.

But along with that, Zegna also had a pioneering vision to enhance his hometown, by taking care of both community and territory.

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In 1929, he planted the first tree in what was a lifeless mountainous area surrounding his wool mill, and kickstarted a reforestation project in his northern Italian homeland. In the 1930s, he also connected the two sides of the mountain through the construction of the panoramic, 44.5-km 232 Road, which is also the inspiration for the brand’s somewhat retro-looking new logo unveiled in 2021.

On the social front, Zegna built schools, hospitals and recreational facilities – such as a swimming pool, which is still in operation.

Today, there are more than 500,000 trees in Oasi (meaning “oasis”) Zegna and growing, with a new tree planted for each child born to a company employee.

The natural territory now is a thriving and biodiverse ecosystem that covers around 100 sq km across the Biella Alps in northern Italy, or 30 times the size of New York City’s Central Park.

Some 120 km or a 90-minute drive from Milan city centre, Oasi Zegna is a free park complete with tourist facilities and activities for all ages, including hiking, horseback riding and skiing.

It is a remarkable model of societal and environmental consciousness at a time when such things were not fashionable. Today, it continues via the family’s foundation – established in 2000 by third generation family member, Anna Zegna – which is also involved in other initiatives including those in education, arts, culture and health and medical research.

Time to shout it out

At this year’s Milan Design Week, Zegna marked the launch of Born in Oasi Zegna, by taking over the city with multiple activations; with its limited-edition tote bags featuring exclusive illustrations from the book seen everywhere.

For starters, its Via Savona headquarters was transformed into an Oasi Zegna-inspired exhibit in the centre of Milan’s design district. The pages of the hefty Born in Oasi Zegna were brought to life through a series of imaginative spaces including an immersive multimedia show and a leaf-covered atrium that brought with it the scent of the forest.

On the rooftop terrace, a wall boldly declares: “The second-best thing we do is clothing. The first is Oasi Zegna.”

Zegna also unveiled flower beds in front of Milan’s historic city square and its most popular tourist attraction – the Piazza del Duomo (Cathedral Square). For the next three years, the brand is the appointed official curator of the flowerbeds, for whose plants – including 44 camphors and 18 rhododendrons – were selected from the over 100 diverse botanical species in Oasi Zegna.

Its global store on Via Montenapoleone, famous for being one of the most expensive shopping streets in the world, carried a striking Born in Oasi Zegna window installation in celebration of Milan Design Week.

Zegna also took over the Rizzoli, the celebrated bookstore in downtown Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.

In addition, there were newsstands in Piazza del Duomo and along the tree-lined Via dei Giardini where long queues formed for Zegna’s tote bags.

These days, brands habitually tout their sustainability practices. But when you have first-hand opportunity to scrutinise the well-organised and assiduously (some might say obsessively) handwritten notes for fabric “recipes” starting from over a century ago, you have little doubt that the founder of Zegna was as serious about his wool as he was achieving harmony between people and the environment.

As for the 500,000 trees? Yes, there is documentation for those too.