Ermenegildo Zegna

Ermenegildo Zegna Celebrates a Century of Style

Filed under: Apparel, Books, Men's Style

The subtitle of a lavish new book on Ermenegildo Zegna – An Enduring Passion for Fabrics, Innovation, Quality and Style – is an apt description of the Italian luxury men's fashion house's core values. Celebrating the famed firm's 100th anniversary, the book from Skira is divided into four chapters – Mind, Hand, Style and Environment – exploring the origins and values of the brand and the four generations of family members who have made it a success story while remaining committed to the concept of "ethical expansion". As evidence of the latter, Ermenegildo Zegna is donating 20% of the retail sales of the book to the children's educational charity Care & Share.

Each chapter is introduced by noted international writers and accompanied by images that retrace the history of the Zegna brand, from ad campaigns to previously unpublished images. "Today we celebrate one hundred years since the foundation of our Group and we look towards future global developments," notes the company's CEO Ermenegildo Zegna, "as it is our duty to continue to represent the values of excellence and Italian quality all around the world. This is the heritage that our grandfather left us: savoir faire in craftsmanship, entrepreneurship and loyalty to our ethical founding values." See the gallery for a preview.

Gallery: 100 Years of Ermenegildo Zegna

Tags: ad campaigns, books, coffee table books, Ermenegildo Zegna, fashion, Italian fashion, Italy, mens style, Zegna

Girard-Perregaux To Be Official Maker Of Ermenegildo Zegna Watches

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches, Men's Style

Just announced, Swiss Girard-Perregaux (in the Sowind Group) and clothing/fashion designer Ermenegildo Zegna have signed a 10 year contract whereby Girard Perregaux will design and produce timepieces for the famous men's fashion brand. The two most recently created a special Girard-Perregaux watch for Zegna that I discussed here. The partnership sort of reminds me of the deal that Ralph Lauren made with the Richemont Group to produce high-end Ralph Lauren timepieces. Along with the high-status reputation that Girard-Perregaux timepieces have, the watches it will make for Zegna are to be equally luxurious and high quality. More than likely the watches will only be available in Ermenegildo Zegna stores. Look for the watches starting sometime in 2011.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: 2011, Ermenegildo Zegna, Girard-Perregaux, sowind, watch, watches

The Fashion Statement: Dream Hommes

by Kristin Young (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Men's Style, The Fashion Statement

Menswear changes at a snail's pace. New cuts are generally so imperceptible year in and year out that they usually sneak up on the average American male. One day a gentleman dons his everyday business suit shocked to discover that the sleeves are too long, shoulders too wide and the whole kit and caboodle is woefully out of date.

So it's news that the Spring '11 menswear shows, that ended in Milan on Tuesday, are really shaking things up, particularly when it comes to color. That's a gutsy move in a challenging global economy where sales are down and designers want play it safe (tie sales have been pitiful recently). But the wealthy are still wealthy and they don't need anything, so newness is what they're after, according to menswear analysts.

Giorgio Armani (pictured above) delivered splashed citrus yellow and sky blue everywhere-on belts, ties, scarves and shirts. Marc Jacobs presented subtle silhouette changes which he zipped up by hints of electric blue and fuchsia. Gucci designer Frida Giannini dreamed of young guys jetting between Rome and Marrakesh. What would these bourgeois gentilhommes wear? Why, suede shorts, Berber jewelry and velvet horse bit loafers, of course.

Tags: dolce and gabbana, dsquared2, Ermenegildo Zegna, Giorgio Armani, Gucci, menswear spring 2010, milan fashion week, moschino

Continue reading “The Fashion Statement: Dream Hommes”

Girard-Perregaux Ermenegildo Zegna Centennial Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Timepieces / Watches

Another fashion designer chooses a real watch maker to produce a special timepiece for them. This is a better option than them branding something cheaper with their name on it. It is a win-win situation for both sides. This watch is meant to celebrate the 100th year of everyone's favorite "too many syllables" Italian designer. To me, Ermenegildo Zegna is a name that looks awesome written down, but the second you try to pronounce it, things go down hill. The Girard-Perregaux name isn't shared on the dial with Zegna, but the style of the watch should tip off most fans of the Swiss brand involved.

Placed in a 40mm wide 18k pink gold case the watch contains the in-house made Girard-Perregaux Caliber 3300-0042 automatic movement. It has an annual calendar and an eccentric display of dials on the watch face. A disc underneath a crescent shaped window reveals the month, while a dial is used for the date while another dial indicators the seconds for the time. In modern Girard-Perregaux fashion, each of the small indicators is in a soothing blue with a different shape hand to help them stand out. In fact I really like Girard-Perregaux's use of this blue mixed with gold. It is a very regal look in my opinion. Fans of the Zegna fashion brand will clearly enjoy this timepiece, but I think most Girard Perregaux fans will flock to other more complex timepieces in this watch collection range. When I look at the dial I am now seeing an odd side skewed smiley face with the month indicator as the mouth and the subdials as eyes. Does anyone else see that?

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: Centennial, Ermenegildo Zegna, ErmenegildoZegna, Girard Perregaux, GirardPerregaux, limited edition, LimitedEdition, watch