Ermenegildo Zegna was the youngest of Angelo Zegna's 10 children, but was the one to take over his father's wool mill in the town of Trivero, in the Italian Alps.
By the end of the 1930s, the company employed over a thousand people and had begun exporting fine textiles throughout Europe and to the United States.
Ermenegildo's sons, Angelo and Aldo, took over the company (then known as Ermenegildo Zegna e Figli) in the 1960s, and began the into direct production of high-quality men's suits.
Within a few years, the company had begun producing sportswear and accessories as well. The company produced its first fragrances in 2003. Aldo died in 2000, but Angelo still serves as chairman of the company, and a fourth generation of Zegnas has joined management.
Ermenegildo Zegna has now opened boutiques in South America, the Middle East, and Asia, to become a truly worldwide brand. Designer Tom Ford debuted his first collection for Zegna in 2007.