Ermenegildo Zegna started his company in the Northern Italian town of Trivero in 1910 with the dream of creating the most beautiful fabrics in the world. It has since grown into one of Italy’s best-known dynamic family businesses. The company is now led by the third generation with Gildo as CEO, Paolo as Chairman, and Anna as President of Fondazione Zegna. Today, the fourth generation has entered the company and continues to innovate.
This is our story. Since inception, Zegna has had an international vision. Our founder was ahead of his time. He sourced the best quality natural fibres directly from their country of origin, imported them to Italy to be expertly woven, and subsequently exported these luxury fabrics while promoting the Zegna brand worldwide. Ermenegildo’s brilliant business mind was not limited to his particular industrial field. He understood that the quality he sought for his products couldn’t be separated from a positive relationship with the local territory and the community.
Our founder understood that the beauty of the natural environment and people’s well-being – and not just that of his own employees – were indispensable for a company aspiring to long term success. He wanted to make his hometown, and the world around, a better place. In the 1930s he built facilities including a modernist swimming pool, school, hospital and road to enrich the lives of people in his town. Ermenegildo also dared to launch an extensive reforestation project in the hills surrounding the Lanificio wool mill. The Zegna family has kept alive the idea that product quality can only flourish when there is a ‘culture of beauty,’ a culture that must also respect the environment and local communities.
Born as fabric makers, Zegna has evolved into read-to-wear. Each generation of the family has been involved in consolidating Ermenegildo Zegna’s legacy, opening in 1980 its first boutique in Paris, followed by shops in London and Milan. When it opened its boutique in Beijing, in 1991, it was the first luxury menswear brand to open in China, continuing the entrepreneurial spirit of the founder. Ermenegildo Zegna is now the world leader in luxury menswear with a retail network that covers more than 500 stores in over 100 countries around the world. Zegna’s global expansion has been accelerated through a comprehensive strategy of verticalization including the purchase of the Achill Farm in Australia allows for fully integrated production of our Merino wool from sheep to shop.

Zegna continues the honour the legacy of our founder by adhering to three principles: setting long-term objectives, maintaining family ownership to ensure continuity, and following a sound ethical commitment enshrined in a rigorous corporate governance system. These ensure that the company stays true to the Ermenegildo Zegna’s vision set in 1910, while ensuring it constantly adapts to the needs of the modern consumer.
