If your only perception of Zegna (pronounced zane-ya) is as a suit maker, you might be surprised to know that this family-owned company, has been on the cutting edge of fashion since its inception in 1910.

While fabric is Zegna’s history, suit making has become the family’s heritage. The generation currently running the business grew up, like their fathers and grandfathers, “eating bread and jackets,” as one Italian tailor described such an allconsuming passion. Zegna first put its signature on tailored clothing in the 1960s and a decade later became a world leader in the field with the invention of made-to-measure, a half-machine/half-handmade hybrid style of custom suit making that is today offered by nearly every clothing brand in the world. At a time when designer brands like Gucci, Giorgio Armani and Yves Saint Laurent were offering the same house style to every man wearing their suits, Zegna’s idea to let men select their own fabrics and details— in essence design their own suits— became a watershed moment for both Zegna and, subsequently, the entire menswear industry.

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