Zegna’s New Book Explores the Brand’s Conservationist Roots

When a fashion house publishes a book, you know pretty much what to expect: statement looks, runway shows, product shots. Flipping through Born in Oasi Zegna, however, you might be forgiven for thinking you are looking at a National Geographic publication. The tome is filled with images of luscious landscapes in Oasi Zegna, the region in the Biellese Alps, west of Milan, where Zegna was founded more than 100 years ago. At the time, the mountains surrounding the company’s textile factory were barren; over decades, Zegna has completely reforested the area, planting more than half a million trees—and counting—in a space that covers roughly 100 square kilometers and is now a public park. (As a point of comparison, Central Park in New York is about 3.4 square kilometers.) Printed on paper made from wool and other of the label’s signature fibers, Born in Oasi traces Zegna’s family legacy through anecdotes, postcards, and inspirational images, while highlighting the importance of sustainability and environmental consciousness for the future of fashion. As the Zegna family stressed during the launch for the book at Salone del Mobile in Milan: “The second-best thing we do is clothing. The first is Oasi Zegna.”