The Ermenegildo Zegna Group set out to create an unparalleled and immersive experience for its top customers, and the town house it transformed into Villa Zegna on New York’s Upper East Side this week certainly accomplished that goal.
On Wednesday, the Italian luxury brand invited what Gildo Zegna, chief executive officer, called “VICs, or very important customers and friends” to visit a recreation of the original home of his grandfather and company founder, Ermenegildo Zegna, located within Oasi Zegna, a 39-square-mile sanctuary in the Italian Alps, just a few minutes from the Zegna wool mill.
Spanning three floors, visitors move through the story of the founder’s first trip to New York City. Videos inside the main entrance help bring the experience to life before guests are invited to peruse selections from the brand’s fall collection by creative director Alessandro Sartori. An elevator, which was transformed into Ermenegildo Zegna’s office, takes visitors to a moss-filled reception room with writing on the walls describing Oasi Zegna. They then are ushered into an expansive dining room, where a portrait of the founder hangs and a map of Oasi Zegna covers the ceiling. Over the next five days VICs will be treated to dinners, prepared by Sant Ambroeus, that will feature a menu inspired by the founder’s visit to New York in 1938, when he honored the Professional Italian Tailors of America and introduced his luxury fabrics to the world.
The third floor is home to a dedicated by-appointment-only private lounge where select clients can shop exclusive products that are not available in the company’s usual retail network. They can also order personalized versions of the “Il Conte” jacket. Il Conte means “Count” in Italian and pays homage to the founder, who was bestowed the title of Count of Monte Rubello for the legacy he created as an entrepreneur, philanthropist and businessman. The jacket is created from 100 percent traceable cashmere and is available in five colors. There are also other products expressly created for this experience, including an alligator jacket.
While this may be the most elaborate installation, the journey started in Milan during Salone del Mobile last April with the launch of the book “Born in Oasi Zegna,” which tells the story of Ermenegildo Zegna’s vision. In the 1930s, he planted more than 500,000 trees and built a road connecting the two sides of the mountain where Oasi Zegna stands today.
The Villa Zegna installation first made its appearance in Shanghai in May, but that concept was centered around linen, Gildo Zegna said. “This is the major one,” he said of the New York edition.
Zegna said he was 11 when his grandfather died from Alzheimer’s disease at age 74, and he remembered clearly his villa that was replicated in the Upper East Side town house. He also recalled reading the paper to his grandfather, who then quizzed him about exactly what he had read. He has fond memories of how well his grandfather dressed, with his high-collared shirts “like Tom Ford,” that always included his initials. “He was a very, very intense personality,” he said.
He added that in addition to serving as a tribute to the founder, the installation is intended to offer customers a closer look at the company and “what we can do in terms of innovation.” It also serves as evidence of how important the U.S. is to the Zegna Group “and the future we see here as a public company.” He added: “If I were a customer, I would be impressed.”
Zegna revealed that in March, the brand will create a lounge on top of its 57th Street flagship, Salotta Zegna, that will be connected to its made-to-measure department, where it will create an uber-luxury experience for its top clients. The space is being designed by two leading architectural firms in Milan and will feature special collections with “super service,” he said, a concept that may then be rolled out to other cities.
New York is the testing ground and customers will be offered access to “not only the best, but unique pieces. It’s a new way to do business at a super high level with exclusive product and services. And I think that more and more we see around the world that clients want privacy. They don’t want to mingle in the store with too many people. They want personal attention, and so I think that Salano Zegna will be the right milieu to give them that attention in an exclusive way.”
He continued: “New York is the center of the world where the dream started and this is a new beginning to position the brand as exclusive, uber-luxury. Our goal is not quality any longer, it is creating excellent product, unique service, with a customer-centric culture. I don’t care whether it’s in China, or the United States, whether it’s travel retail, or in some resort, this is what the customer should get. And if they’re satisfied, then the numbers will come.”
