Suits from A to Zegna

SYDNEY, Australia –– Don Draper, Harvey Specter, Danny Ocean, the insanely well-groomed cast of Inception, and ah, yes, Tony Stark, may be to blame for this generation’s fascination for dressing well. These guys made suits fresh again, like men who wear them only do cool things like lord over law firms, orchestrate high-profile heists, and mess with people’s heads. There is something else to wear aside from Chuck Taylors and skinny jeans? Even better: A man can wear a suit and not look painfully square? Our minds were blown. In recent years, a younger, more casual generation of males has embraced the suit-and-tie ensemble, taking it from boardroom to ballroom to club, most likely to the beat of an eponymous jazzy pop song unironically playing in the background.

But even before there were all these movies and TV shows (and fashion labels!) to tell us how a well-tailored suit broadens the shoulders, elongates the body and lends the illusion of perfect posture, and way before JT was even born to sing about it, there were the Zegnas, a family from Italy that, under the helm of Ermenegildo Zegna, built their own wool mill in the early 1900’s and has actively taken part in the suit’s sartorial evolution.

The Zegnas I have met, Gildo Zegna, CEO of the Ermenegildo Zegna group, and Paolo Zegna, chairman and Gildo’s cousin, were, not surprisingly, impeccably dressed. So were the over 200 journalists they flew in to celebrate the company’s 50th Wool Awards. I have never been in the company of so many well-dressed men. Every day, each one wore a new suit –– from color-blocked and fitted to decidedly gothic, lengthy and frayed. Some even wore suits to the Cairnie wool farm in Armidale, where we witnessed an abridged demonstration of the shearing process. Poor sheep had nothing on the wool-clad Rat Pack, though we have them and their Grade AAAA wool to thank for keeping the suit alive.

The Golden Fleece

Armidale, which is in the New England region of New South Wales –– an hour’s flight and a scenic countryside drive from Sydney, is home to hundreds of woolgrowers. Every year, the Zegnas hold the Ermenegildo Zegna Wool Awards to give recognition to the best in the business. In the 1910, young Ermenegildo Zegna founded the Lanficio Ermenegildo Zegna Wool Mill in his hometown in Trivero, Italy, and in the 1920s, started to buy Australian Superfine wool. As part of his commitment to quality, he created the Wool Awards in 1963 and this year is its 50th anniversary, a milestone for the partnership between the 100-year-old company and the woolgrowers –– what better to celebrate it than by championing the woolgrowers this time around?

A behind-the-scenes pass to the shed where the shearing takes place proved interesting. To make a suit, you need a third of one sheep’s wool. While this doesn’t sound like much (on the way to the Cairnie wool farm owned by the Peterson family), my Singaporean seatmate Aravin guessed 10, I guessed 15), it’s important to note that not all of the sheep’s wool can actually be used to make a Zegna-quality suit. An Ermenegildo Zegna suit is made only of the finest parts of the Merino breed of sheep –– Merino superfine wool, such as the sides and the shoulders. Every year, woolgrowers from different states of Australia participate in the Wool Awards, presenting their best fleece for judging.

Gildo, who belongs to the fourth generation of the Zegna family, explained the importance of the Wool Awards: “In the late ‘70s (Paolo and I were both in college then), we visited the farm and saw how important the connection with the farmers is. It was important for us to understand what the process entails in order to go 50 years. There’s no future in fashion without wool because wool lives and wool performs. But wool is a semi-finished product, so it’s up to Zegna to make it happen.”

The Zegna Vellus Aurelium trophy, also known as the “Golden Fleece,” is awarded to the most outstanding fleeces, according to the following criteria: trueness of type, conformity and length, soundness, handle, color, character, density, evenness, yield and quality. This year, the trophy was awarded to Windareen farm in New South Wales, which has so far won the most trophies in the history of the Wool Awards –– six times, to be accurate. Their prize? 750 grams of gold.

Sixties revival

At the fashion show held at the Royal Hall of Industries in Sydney’s Moore Park district, Zegna presented its fall/winter 2013 collection, which debuted earlier in Milan. Coinciding with the collection’s launch was the introduction of Techmerino, a high-performance wool that is extremely versatile and lightweight. The fabric is made of pure Merino wool treated with special finishing techniques that allow it to be quick drying, comfortable, breathable and climate-adaptable, and certified biodegradable.

“Zegna has been consistent in using lengthy fabrics,” said Gildo. “It pops back. Techmerino is the fabric for men of travel, businessmen. The process leaves the fabric stain-free and has cooling characteristics. It is resilient to heat.” He added, “Also the great thing about wool is how you can mix it with other fabrics, like silk, for summer. It gives wool a nice sparkle. Or cashmere, for winter.”

A nod to the ‘60s, the birth-decade of the Ermenegildo Zegna Wool Awards, was also showcased at the fashion show where Zegna also unveiled a capsule collection featuring an exclusive new fabric: the Trofeo Natural Comfort. In a classic pied-de-poule pattern inspired by the styles produced by the Lanificio in the 1960s made from the winning wools from the first Wool Awards, the Trofeo was used for every look in the capsule collection.

Fashion coordinator Stefano Miglo, who has been working with the Zegnas for 15 years, explained it best: “Pied-de-poule is a black and white optical pattern. The fabric then was as thick as this table in the ‘60s! In the past, wool was only to cover and protect you in winter. Now, the usage of wool is totally different, it has become an trans-seasonal fabric, very fresh. It can be good in winter, it can be good in summer. Now with the new technology, we have created Trofeo. The fabric is super thin, super comfortable.”

Both the capsule collection and fall/winter presentation were telling of where menswear is at the moment. “I think men’s is heading very fast towards the informal style. This does not mean that the classical style will disappear. A classic guy will still wear classic clothes. But, despite the occasion, if I’m an informal guy, I will be informal in all occasions. When I have to be elegant, I will be informally elegant. Consumption-wise, there has been a very strong acceleration towards informality,” said Stefano. “Zegna started before others in creating total looks devoted to what we call ‘upper casual.’ We did this 10 years ago, when it was not very common.” He added that upper casual is one of their best performers in Asia. “This is something Zegna has been distributing very successfully. If in the past Zegna was very formal, now Zegna is 50-percent formal, because this is where the world is going.”

So where does the suit stand in a country like the Philippines? Certainly not inside a closet. Wool, being a dynamic fiber, can be treated and manufactured to fit various occasions and climates. Zegna’s Technomerino and Trofeo fabrics, for instance, are created for casual wear –– jackets, shirts and pants that are lightweight, comfortable and breathable. “Superfine cotton for shirts would be great for the Philippines –– unfortunately, expensive stuff,” Stefano joked. “Wool with silk would also be nice. And a lot of sportswear.”

In 100 years, Ermenegildo Zegna has morphed from a textile company to a luxury retail brand with 300 stores in over 100 countries. It manufactures suits for its own labels, as well as for labels like Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, and Tom Ford. It has an A-list clientele that includes Chris Hemsworth, who wore a three-piece Zegna suit to the Wool Awards, Chris Pine, who wore a made-to-measure Zegna to the 2013 Oscars, Matt Damon and Tom Brady, who wore Zegna suits to their respective weddings, and Mad Men’s Jon Hamm, who wore a two-piece Zegna tuxe to the 2013 SAG Awards.

The brand’s focus remains on menswear, but it also carries a niche women’s wear brand called Agnona, which has stores in New York, London, Moscow and Hong Kong. Zegna has likewise ventured into fragrances, and soon, the company will be coming up with what might be its most exciting venture to date: a partnership with Italian car manufacturer Maserati, which will have them create custom interiors made with Merino Superfine wool.

Want to suit up in a Zegna? Walk into a room –– or better yet, dramatically exit a room, feeling like a Stark? That’ll be around US$2000 t0 $3000 a pop –– but hey, with great power, comes great responsibility.

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Ermenegildo Zegna is exclusively distributed by Stores Specialists Inc. (SSI) and is located at Rustan’s Makati and Greenbelt 4.