The styles are reinterpreted in off-kilter patterns and casual cuts in collaboration with Bailey Hunter, Creative Director of The Elder Statesman and Zegna Creative director Alessandro Sartori
Cashmere as a fiber
Cashmere is an animal-hair fiber that forms the downy undercoat of the Kashmir goat and is classified as a specialty hair fiber. Although the term cashmere is occasionally applied wrongly to soft wools, only Kashmir goat cashmere is authentic.
The fiber, known as pashm or pashmina in various regions of Asia, rose to prominence due to its usage in shawls and handcrafted goods manufactured in Kashmir, India. The cashmere goat has a protective outer coat of coarse fiber. The downy undercoat is formed of cashmere, a thin, silky fiber. During the molting season, the majority of this down fiber is manually plucked or combed out.
Zegna Cashmere
Zegna has formed close relationships with top cashmere producers in Mongolia. The fiber is rare, and is woven from the undercoat of Kashmir goats, a species that hails from the Himalayan region of Kashmir.
Kashmir goats have two coats to defend themselves from the cold: one that is heavy and superficial, and another closer to the body known as the duvet, which is made of a short, fine, highly warm down. Shepherds manually harvest wool in the spring using special combs with large teeth. The fibers of the two jackets are then separated since only the duvet produces genuine cashmere.
Oasi Zegna founded by Ermenegildo Zegna
The founder of Zegna, Ermenegildo Zegna, planted the first tree in Oasi Zegna in 1910 surrounding his Wool Mill in Northern Italy. Today, the area consists of over 500,000 trees, with no signs of slowing down. In the 1930’s Mr. Zegna built Our Road to Tomorrow (now known as 232 Panoramica Zegna) which stretches over twenty-six kilometers and joins Oasi Zegna with the local communities – building a lasting relationship between the environment and the community.
In 1993 Oasi Zegna officially became a natural protected territory, and now covers around 100 km² across the Biella Alps in Northern Italy – three times the size of Central Park in New York City.
Oasi Cashmere by Zegna
With the tagline crafted for tomorrow, Oasi Cashmere transforms into a collaborative tool and a catalyst for innovative dialogue. With the Oasi Cashmere collection, Zegna envisions their approach that the best garments can only be derived from the finest natural resources.
During the Zegna FW23 show, Zegna first teased the collection, and every piece of clothing has a QR code that traces the development of the Oasi Cashmere collection from the cashmere farm to spinning or knitting, and finally to the boutiques of the label. The codes also give customers a visual tour of Oasi Zegna, the program that gives back to nature.
The Elder Statesman: Greg Chait
In 2007, Greg Chait founded The Elder Statesman, a luxury clothing brand based in Los Angeles. He was inspired to explore a niche market after receiving a cashmere blanket as a present. The brand was created in 2007 and grew into an appointment-only studio in West Hollywood in 2011, later evolving into retail channels.
It is a laidback luxury brand that invests in the masters of craft. Human skill is regarded as their ultimate luxury and is the backbone of The Elder Statesman. The majority of The Elder Statesmen products are produced in their own factory, in downtown Los Angeles. The brand produces clothing and regards themselves as a lifestyle brand that joins craftsmanship and lightheartedness.
Zegna in collaboration with The Elder Statesman
A relationship with the Los Angeles-based lifestyle brand The Elder Statesman is the first of ongoing discussions for Oasi Zegna. The Elder Statesman and ZEGNA share a commitment to craftsmanship, materials, craftspeople, and harmony with nature.
Oasi Cashmere commits to expressing the world’s finest raw materials, and by 2024, it plans to be fully certified traceable. It hopes to establish itself as a forum where like-minded individuals can share knowledge and materiality in order to open up new avenues for possibilities and expressions. The goal is to establish a zero-waste society where beauty rules and workmanship is diverse, from raw materials to completed products.
«At the origin of this partnership are two companies who value the way things are made. In reality, we sometimes feel like Zegna’s eccentric cousins who set up shop in Los Angeles, bringing a centuries-old craft to the new world», stated The Elder Statesman founder Greg Chiat.
Oasi Cashmere, according to both groups, is a way of connecting cultures in a progressive and responsible way. Both the businesses have a commitment towards the traceability of natural fibers and this platform allows it.
Ermenegildo Zegna Group Made in Italy Luxury Platform
The Zegna x The Elder Statesman collaboration starts with a collection that broadens boundaries to explore artistic avenues and a shared spirit of vertical crafting, an idea relevant to both businesses’ ideologies. The Ermenegildo Zegna Group Made in Italy Luxury Platform, which includes Bonotto, Dondi, Filati Biagioli Modesto, Lanificio Zegna, and Tessitura Ubertino, is already collaborating with The Elder Statesman’s own vertically integrated platform to supply them with Ermenegildo Zegna Group fabrics and yarns. This platform is made up of a team of fifty plus artisans, including knitters and hand-dyers.
Zegna Artistic director, Alessandro Sartori has stated that this collaboration allows Zegna to explore a new world and find other expressions to Oasi Cashmere. «The idea of cross pollination, which is what happens in Oasi Zegna as a natural organism and can be turned into a business and creative model which allows us to reach out a new audience», he continued.
After two and half years of communication between the brands, they have managed to join Italy and the United States in their commitment towards quality, craft, and a mutual respect.
The Oasi Cashmere Collection
The collection symbolizes the fusion of two spheres: The Elder Statesman’s Californian sense of luxury with levity transforms a reset of the male wardrobe by Heritage Zegna. The styles are reinterpreted in off-kilter patterns, rich materials, and casual cuts in collaboration with Bailey Hunter, Creative Director of The Elder Statesman and Zegna Creative director Alessandro Sartori.
A transition between indoors and out, work and play, day and night; pieces that are simple to put on, and versatile. Cashmere long shorts, button-down shirts, and trousers are woven in plaids that evoke old Southern California sun-bleached flannels.
Hues of lilac, bacca red, green, aurora yellow, green, and vicuna are added to a fabric that is reminiscent of well-worn corduroys to create suits. The outfits are completed with brushed cashmere slip-on shoes, hand-blocked felt bucket hats and fitted baseball caps from a century-old hat factory.
Starting in September 2023, the collection will be offered at prominent Zegna stores across the world, The Elder Statesman retail channels, and a select group of wholesale partners.
Zegna
Once a manufacturer of textiles, Zegna is now a market leader in luxury menswear and a member of the Ermenegildo Zegna Group. The Zegna Group designs, manufactures, and distributes menswear and accessories under the Zegna brand and womenswear, menswear, and accessories under the Thom Browne brand in eighty countries around the world. The company is committed to upholding its history while also striving to improve the present and the future. The Chairman and CEO of the Group is Gildo Zegna, a member of the third generation of the family.
The Elder Statesman
The Elder Statesman have a stake in the craft masters. They view human skill as luxury with hand-spun yarns, handloom knitters, weavers, and dyers. In-house production accounts for the majority of their output at their arts and crafts facility in downtown Los Angeles. Greg Chait started our firm in 2007 with a line of cashmere blankets.
