As a family business, Ermenegildo Zegna goes back to the second half of the 19th century.Angelo Zegna a watchmaker by trade, started weaving wool from four looms. Of his ten children it was the last, Ermenegildo born in 1892, who took over what was to become one of Italy’s best known and most dynamic family businesses.
It was the young entrepreneur; Ermenegildo aged 18 that founded the Lanificio Zegna (wool mill) in 1910, in Trivero, in the Alpine foothills near Biella. Ermenegildo began to produce fabrics using four looms. In his own words, these fabrics had to be “the most beautiful in the world.” Today, Zegna fabrics are still one of Italy’s most acclaimed exports, identified internationally by a red seal.
Ermenegildo had an international vision, ahead of his time, to source the best quality natural fibres, directly from their country of origin innovation in product and in the production process and promotion of the brand. This vision laid the foundations for a fully vertically integrated company and one of Italy’s most acclaimed family driven enterprises.
Before long, Ermenegildo’s strategies proved a success. His international vision led to exportation of fabrics to as far a field as America in 1938, and by 1945 Zegna fabrics were sold in over 40 countries.
Synonymous with classic suit tailoring, Zegna’s ready-to-wear and exclusive ‘su Misura’ services date back to the 70s. A meticulous process, measurements are taken in Lisbon, the items made in Switzerland and finishing touches completed in Barcelona.
Ermenegildo Zegna, Avenida da Liberdade, Lisbon, Portugal
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