ZEGNA THE ELDER STATESMAN THE OASI OF CASHMERE

ZEGNA’s Oasi Cashmere is a showcase of an uncompromising approach to natural materials and represents a new model of environmental and business consciousness. With the mantra “crafted for tomorrow”, Oasi Cashmere becomes now a medium of collaboration, a facilitator for creative conversations.  The first of these on-going dialogues is a partnership with the Los Angeles-based lifestyle company, The Elder Statesman, which was announced with a teaser look during the ZEGNA FW23 fashion show in Milan and has now been unveiled as a fully-fledged collection merging two identities into a new one. The Elder Statesman and ZEGNA share a mutual devotion to craft, material excellence, master craftspeople and synchronization with nature. Cashmere, the very excellence of fibers, is the material expression of this ethos. Oasi Cashmere is dedicated to the expression of the world’s finest raw materials, and committed to being fully certified traceable by 2024, becoming a platform in which knowledge and materiality can be exchanged with like-minded peers to pollinate in new grounds, opening other possibilities and expressions. From fiber to finished goods, the idea is to create a zero-waste world where beauty reigns and craftsmanship is multifaceted.

The ZEGNA x The Elder Statesman partnership starts with a collection that expands horizons to take on new stylistic paths and a shared ethos of vertical craftsmanship, an idea integral to both companies’ mindsets. In fact, the Ermenegildo Zegna Group Made in Italy Luxury Platform – which includes Bonotto, Dondi, Filati Biagioli Modesto, Lanificio Zegna and Tessitura Ubertino – is already working with The Elder Statesman’s own vertically integrated platform (which comprises a team of 50+ artisans including knitters, hand-dyers and embroiderers all housed in its Los Angeles factory, office and design studio) to provide them with Ermenegildo Zegna Group fabrics and yarns. This devotion to craft creates the perfect base for this on-going partnership.
Says ZEGNA Artistic Director Alessandro Sartori: “Dialogues like this allow us to add new layers to our world, finding other expressions to Oasi Cashmere. We worked on this collection completely together, merging our shapes with The Elder Statesman’s distinctive colors and all-pervading spontaneity. It’s the very 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”.

Greg Chait, Founder and CEO of The Elder Statesman says: “We are honored to be working with, what we believe, is one of the best brands and manufacturers in the world. 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. This partnership feels like a homecoming, and after two and a half years of deep and meaningful discussions with ZEGNA, our co-designed collection is a symptom of something much larger: a recognition of quality, craft, and a deep mutual respect. 6,000 miles away from Oasi Zegna (in Piedmont Italy) is our factory in downtown Los Angeles, an Oasi of our own making.”

ZEGNA & The Elder Statesman Joint Statement: “Oasi Cashmere is a platform to encounter new cultures and visions that are both progressive and responsible. For ZEGNA, working with like-minded partners like The Elder Statesman is a key part of Its commitment towards the traceability of natural fibers. For The Elder Statesman, this partnership is the first step in enriching its supply chain with the Zegna Group’s textile mastery and further elevating the work of its own artisans.”

The collection represents the merging of two worlds: Alessandro Sartori’s impeccable reset of the masculine wardrobe is transfigured by The Elder Statesman’s Californian sense of luxury with levity.  Working together with The Elder Statesman’s Creative Director, Bailey Hunter, heritage ZEGNA styles are reimagined in vibrant colors, off-kilter patterns, rich textures, and relaxed cuts.   

Everything is soft, in both shape and spirit: a seamless flow of indoors and outdoors, work and leisure, day and night; pieces that are comfortable, easy to wear and easy to mix. Plaids referencing nostalgic Southern California sun-bleached flannels are woven in the finest cashmere button-down shirts, long shorts and trousers.  A fabric reminiscent of worn-in corduroys is elevated into suiting in rich colors such as lilac, bacca red, green, aurora yellow, green and vicuna.  Felt bucket hats and fitted baseball caps, hand-blocked at a century-old hat factory, as well as brushed cashmere slip-ons finish off the looks.

The collection will be available starting from September 2023 in key ZEGNA stores globally, The Elder Statesman retail channels and in selected wholesale partners.