Life & Style | Beauty & Fashion
Sharp suiter
Nitin Nair travels to Ermenegildo Zegna's spiritual home in Italy and learns this: when the recession finally blows over, you want to be seen in an Italian suit.
- By Nitin Nair, Senior Features Writer
- Published: 15:07 January 6, 2009
The rolling mist relents and the Biella Alps make a brief appearance before fading away again. "On clearer days, you can see all the trees that my grandfather planted yonder," says Laura Zegna, pointing to the outlines of the hills that form the backdrop for Casa Zegna, the spiritual centre of the Ermenegildo Zegna business.
It's been almost a hundred years since textile tycoon Ermenegildo Zegna set up the wool mill in Trivero, a quaint little town in north western Italy that lies at the foothills of the Biella Alps, but here at the founder's house overlooking the lanificio (Italian for wool mill), the fourth generation of the Zegna family has preserved the legacy of the company's founder. Casa Zegna, Ermenegildo's villa, is now a historical archive that has handwritten ledgers and samples of every fabric that the mill has ever produced.
It's hard to miss the man's legacy in this town – he built the local hospital and community centre, a majority of the town's working class are employed at his wool mill, the surrounding hills is home to Oasi Zegna, an environmentally protected park, managed now by his granddaughter Laura.
So much to a suit
Yet, the rustic ambience of this picturesque town is in stark contrast to the imposing modern glass façade of the company's slick new headquarters in Milan where another of Ermenegildo's granddaughters, Anna Zegna, the company's director of image, proudly shows off some of the cutting edge fabrics that the wool mill in Trivero produces.
She runs her fingers over the 'Cool Effect' jacket – a black jacket that reflects the sun's infrared rays, like a white jacket would, instead of absorbing them. This is the result of a dyeing process that uses a similar technology to the one used in the automobile industry. "The result," Anna says, "is that a black suit in sweltering heat is not uncomfortable anymore."
If you thought a suit was just a suit, wait till you see the 'elemental jacket'.
Inspired by the thermo-regulation mechanism of pine cones: the pores in the fabric open, allowing the water vapour produced by temperature changes to pass through; when closed, they deliver perfect insulation from the outside temperature. Although not nearly as dramatic in comparison, I also spot suits stitched with 'Micronsphere' finished-fabric that keeps its composure even when a glass of water is flung at it.
The vision
Ermenegildo started off with the Trivero wool mill in 1910, producing fabrics (the cool waters from the river Sesia was ideal for washing wool). Though his company never produced the raw material, Ermenegildo was passionate about the wool he sourced – travelling the world to unearth the finest merino wool and cashmere from as far afield as Mongolia and Australia.
He was among the first producers of fabric in Italy to weave his name into the border of the fabric he sold to tailors and in the 1930s even launched an advertising campaign to promote his textiles along the country's railway lines.
When his sons Angelo and Aldo took over the business in the 60s, they entered the ready-to-wear market and soon the classic Zegna suit was born – understated, elegant and characterised by luxurious details.
At the upper end, the 'Couture' line suits are handmade, each garment requires over 33,000 stitches and 18 hours of craftmanship.
Today the folks at Zegna pride themselves on being a vertically-integrated company that produces more than two million metres of fabric, more than 350,000 finished suits and another two million shirts, ties, sportswear, and accessories per year.
The most expensive made-to-measure suit, made from the finest Vicuna, can set you back by about 20,000 euros and can take up eight months from the time the order is placed. This is the kind of suit that you want to be seen wearing when you step out of a Rolls-Royce.
One of the challenges of being in the luxury business is that all the quality of all aspects of the brand need to be at the same level.
A great suit, you see, is not just about the visual feel, there's a lot of research and passion that goes into the final product," says Anna before defining the single most important distinguishing character of a good suit. "You forget what you are wearing, that to me is also what wearing your personality is all about."
Why wear an Ermenegildo Zegna suit? She picks an analogy out of Italian cuisine.
"There are a million ways to make risotto or pasta. But the basic rules are simple. The difference lies in the quality of ingredients and innovation. That's the difference between a good and a great risotto."
"There are more rules to men's suits now.
A basic difference is that suits today are much lighter than those in the 1920s or 30s. I think the guys who make good suits are those that can strike that fine balance between innovation and tradition," says Anna.
Eye for detail
Nowhere is this more visible than at the company's 'Su misura' or made-to-measure factory in Mendrisio, just across the border from Italy in Switzerland.
Measurements from Zegna boutiques the world over are sent here through a centralised system. Rows upon rows of workers sit hunched across tables, each section works on a particular part of the suit. A woman is ironing the shoulder of a suit, one of the 40 ironing operations that a suit goes through. On the floor below, in the quality control department, a worker is checking the measurements of a finished suit.
The measurements on the sleeve don't match with the ones on the order form. "The suit has to go back to the table now to rectify the error," says a supervisor, smiling. Some weeks later, at a Zegna boutique somewhere, a man trying this suit will look in the mirror and nod in approval.
Addicted to style
Z Zegna is the alter-ego of the classic Zegna-wearer. Young and more fashionable than the brand that spawned it; Z Zegna is now being overseen by creative director Alessandro Sartori.
We sneak in a quick five questions with the soft-spoken Italian designer.
1. Who is the Z Zegna line aimed at?
We envision him as someone who's 25-years-old in his mind, is metropolitan and well- travelled. He isn't loyal to any particular brand, but is completely addicted to style.
2. What's the new spring-summer Z Zegna look about?
The inspiration for this line comes from contemporary and modern art.
I call it poetic tailoring. The silhouettes are skinny, fitting jackets and loose, carrot pants. I'm basically playing with different proportions. I'd like to think of it as poetic tailoring – romantic design expressed through tailored dressing.
3. Competition?
Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci.
4. Define a good suit.
A good suit is all about the fit. The fit needs to be with the times. The trend now is towards skinny jackets, tight-fitting suits. I have a few suits that are great but were made years ago. Somehow they don't seem right now, so I don't wear them.
Also the kind of fabric, don't compromise on the quality of the fabric.
5. Your pick from the spring-summer line?
We have interpreted the classic bomber jacket from wool. The textures on the jacket and the fit are really remarkable.
Available at Harvey Nichols, Burjuman and Mall of the Emirates, The Boulevard at Emirates Towers, and the Rodeo Drive, Sheikh Khalifa Street in Abu Dhabi.
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