Ermenegildo Zegna’s Fall Winter 2020 campaign explores what it means to be a man in the modern world, even as it celebrates 110 years of socially and environmentally responsible fashion. Adherents are invited to be a supporter of the lush Zegna forest that surrounds the mill, by purchasing symbolic wooden hearts through the maison’s new online store.

The abundant Oasi Zegna with 500,000 trees planted since the 1930s

It’s a time for celebration and a time for reflection. 2020 marks Zegna’s 110th anniversary by exploring the concept of legacy: how it honours the legacy of its founder, and how it strives for a better tomorrow. This continues a conversation about modern masculinity that began in Fall 2019 and continued in Spring 2020. Zegna explores the values that guide the contemporary masculine mindset in its Fall Winter 2020 campaign #WhatMakesAMan.

Zegna's FW 2020 campaign is all about modern masculinity with social responsibility

What does it mean to be a man today? This question has been guiding everything Ermenegildo Zegna has done since 1910. Zegna takes social and environmental responsibility very seriously, and today, 110 years since the founding of this Italian maison in Piemonte, northern Italy, they have reaffirmed their commitment to the natural world. When he founded his company, Ermenegildo Zegna’s dream was not just to create the world’s finest textiles but to make his hometown – and the world around it – a better place, ensuring the highest quality without compromising the quality of life for future generations.

It all starts with Zegna’s approach to sustainability. Founder Ermenegildo Zegna ignited the company’s lifelong protection of the environment when he began planting more than 500,000 trees starting in the 1930s. Driven by a deep sense of giving back, his reforestation project transformed the landscape surrounding Ermenegildo Zegna Lanificio or wool mill into a 100 sq km nature reserve that is today known as Oasi Zegna. (Oasi Zegna was established in 1993, and stretches from Trivero Valdilana to the peaks of the Biella Alps in Northern Italy.)

The Oasi Zegna stretches from Trivero Valdilana to the peaks of the Biella Alps in Northern Italy

This season, carrying Mr Zegna’s commitment to the planet forward, the maison asks the community to join in taking care of the world for the next generation. With the Fall 2020 campaign, people are invited to be part of Zegna Forest and become an active supporter of Oasi Zegna.

The wooden heart is yours for purchase at Zegna.com

As a token of Zegna’s shared promise to the environment, making digital what is physical, through the new Zegna.com, launched recently, everyone can buy an engraved wooden heart that is the sign of the maison’s contribution to the ecosystem. Expertly crafted from Italian trees, fallen naturally or cut down for security reasons, the wooden hearts symbolize Zegna’s legacy and love for the land.

Unboxing Zegna's wooden heart - proceeds go to the Oasi Zegna

Zegna’s commitment also continues with #UseTheExisting, a vision for sustainable luxury. Across tailoring and leisurewear, Zegna uses pre-existing and post-consumer fibres that are reworked for a new life in a #UseTheExisting garment. Much like evolving ideas about masculinity, this is about reinvention and also makes the dream of zero waste possible.

A look from Zegna's FW 2020 collection

A DIGITAL WORLD

Optimized for mobile, the new Zegna.com, offers a tailored and more immersive experience with a host of features that redefine luxury online shopping.

Omnichannel and reconceived as a new kind of flagship store, Zegna.com is a digital boutique where customers will find the same luxury aesthetic and world-class customer service that they expect at the maison’s stores worldwide. New services are featured such as ‘book an appointment’, ‘reserve and try in store’. In a more sustainable approach, the new website is designed to make customer’s orders to be picked up from the global monobrand network throughout advanced distribution models. Customers can now shop full looks and seamlessly book in-store services such as alterations, customization product reservations or made-to-measure appointments. The experience is bookended with a simpler login process and more payment options at checkout, including Paypal, WeChat Pay and Alipay.

The Ermenegildo Zegna Lanificio is adjacent to the Oasi Zegna, the verdant forest created by its founder Mr Zegna

The new site supports the reforestation of Oasi Zegna, with the Zegna Forest project, offering to all customers to buy a wooden heart and contribute to grow a plant for the benefit of the planet.