Zegna Launches 6 Fragrances as an Olfactory Memoir of Its Founder
Words by Nasreen Osman
The story of Zegna begins high in the Italian Alps, in Trivero, Piedmont. What started as a wool mill founded in 1910 – with a teenage Ermenegildo Zegna at the helm – has since evolved into a powerhouse luxury menswear house renowned for its refined Italian tailoring and fabric innovation. Now, the house returns to the world of fragrance, translating and immortalising the life of its visionary founder through a new olfactory chapter.
Zegna’s New Fragrance Collection: Memorie
Six Fragrances, One Founder Story
Across six eaux de parfum, Memorie distils intimate moments and personal objects from Zegna’s life into scent – from quiet instances of reflection to the meticulous fabric records he kept throughout his career. The bottles, too, embody the house’s refined aesthetic: each glass flacon identical in form, distinguished only by a soft gradient hue designed to reflect the emotion behind its fragrance. To bring this collection to life, the house entrusted this ambitious task to master perfumers Dominique Ropion, Quentin Bisch and Fabrice Pellegrin.
Il Calamaio
by Dominique Ropion
Il Calamaio (Italian for ‘Inkwell’) is designed to capture the quiet early mornings Zegna spent in his study, tinkering over ideas. “I imagined Ermenegildo Zegna in those intimate early hours when ideas are still fragile, shaped by silence and focus. I pictured a man observing his materials, weighing decisions with precision and restraint,” Ropion says. That restraint comes through in the fragrance’s considered inky, leathery and amber facets. “The fragrance is built like a thought: structured and deeply rooted in craft.”
Il Lanificio
by Fabrice Pellegrin
Then we move to the heart of Oasi Zegna (a 38.6-square-mile nature reserve created by founder Zegna) – Il Lanificio (‘Wool Mill’). Its key note, vanilla tahitensis, is “capable of capturing that almost tactile sensation I felt when touching the finest fibres – that extreme softness, enveloping, almost alive”, Pellegrin explains. Creamy sandalwood and tactile suede lend the fragrance a radiant warmth that brings comfort, echoing the softness and cocooning quality of the house’s wool.
A Trivero
by Quentin Bisch
“A Trivero captures the moment when one leaves a familiar setting to venture into the unknown, driven by curiosity and the desire to move forward,” says Bisch. A spritz of A Trivero transports you to the seat of Zegna’s Lancia Aurelia, cruising along winding mountain roads. The scent is fresh and aromatic, like alpine air, with notes of rose and lavender adding a soft, delicate lift, while myrrh recalls the warmth of an engine starting – grounding the fragrance in a spicy, resinous base.
Il Sottobosco
by Fabrice Pellegrin
Next, we venture into the woods with Il Sottobosco (‘Undergrowth’). Spicy, citrus-tinged pink pepper mirrors the sparkle of droplets from the previous night’s rain, before the fragrance takes on an almost fruity quality through carrot seeds and finally settles into earthy patchouli. The result is a scent of seemingly infinite depth – equal parts woody and spicy, and evocative of the forest floor itself.
La Panoramica
by Dominique Ropion
Picture a stretch of winding road cutting through a vast pine forest of more than 500,000 trees. “I wanted La Panoramica to feel like a living environment, with notes that evoke altitude, vegetation and light,” says Ropion. To achieve this, he built the scent around invigorating pine for vibrancy, tempered with aromatic lavender to bring calm and warmth, all anchored by a woody base of earthy vetiver.
Saga del Piemonte
by Fabrice Pellegrin
Finally, we end with a chapter of celebration. Saga del Piemonte (‘Tale of Piedmont’) evokes Zegna sinking into his chair at the end of a long day, absorbing the warmth of laughter that fills the room. It opens with gourmand notes of coffee and cherry‑like ratafia – a traditional liqueur – that lend a glowing, comforting sweetness. The dry down unfolds into woody, ambered layers, giving the fragrance a lasting depth and a quietly triumphant finish.
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