Letters and numbers evoking the notebooks kept in the Archives: this is how outwear and accessories, exclusively for the new store in Manhattan, pay tribute to Ermenegildo Zegna and the art of handcraft and handwriting.
The notebooks record business at the Wool Mill from the end of the Twenties to the end of the Fifties. Ideas, projects, formulae and compositions for the creation of fabrics,wool prices, dyeing and yarn costs, product data sheets…Ermenegildo Zegna wrote it all down in his notebooks, which he took with him when he set off on his first trip to New Yorkin 1938.
At the time, they were simply called “Fabric calculation books” but each one of these precious notebooks kept in the Casa ZegnaArchives has a more specific title on its cover (eg. “Bolt Dyeing Register, 1928” or “Samples, Winter 1930/31”) and tells the story of a season. The notebooks from the war period, for example, contain interesting information on orders for military fabrics, instructions or choices reflecting the market at a given historical moment or the introduction of legislation on textile production and sales.
But their valueis not just historical: ErmenegildoZegna’spersonal notebooks have now inspired an exclusive capsule collection – Taccuino – presented in New York, aptly, at the opening of the global store in theCrown Building, Manhattan. A tribute to Ermenegildo Zegna but also to the art of handwriting and handcraft,with numbers and letters evoking the calligraphy of the notebooks and informing theweaves and patterns of outwear, cardigans and accessories.
Once again the wide ranging contents of the ZegnaArchives – from fabric samples to photographs and historical documents – have proven to be an inexhaustible source of inspiration, a heritage in which the brand’s creative processes and spirit of innovation are firmly rooted.
