The Zegna Group Will Make 280,000 Hospital Suits to Combat Shortage

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Italian luxury menswear group Zegna has entered the battle against Covid-19. The Zegna family and the group’s senior management have announced a €3 million personal donation to Italy’s Civil Protection Agency, which is aimed at helping doctors, nurses, researchers, and volunteers operating on the front-line.

In addition to the donation, The Zegna Group has repurposed two of its factories in Italy and Switzerland to manufacture hospital suits for medical staff, with the aim of producing 280,000 units for the Piedmont region in northwest Italy.

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Today, as part of the Zegna Group’s efforts to aid in the fight against the global COVID-19 crisis, we have started manufacturing protective hospital suits for medical staff, with the aim of producing 280,000 units. These efforts will help provide urgently needed supplies to the Piedmont Region (250,000 units) and Canton Ticino (30,000 units), where we have converted a portion of our INCO plant in Novara and CONSITEX in Mendrisio to accommodate the suit production.⁣ ⁣ This is a collective effort made possible by the collaboration between the Zegna Group, Fondazione Zegna, the Piedmont Region, Italy and Canton Ticino, Switzerland. ⁣ ⁣ The protective suits are constructed with a non-woven fabric, produced by Pratrivero SpA in Biella, Italy. ⁣ ⁣ The Zegna Group is incredibly pleased that the Biella textile district and Unione Industriale Biellese responded immediately to our appeal to work together during this difficult period. We are proactively collaborating with the Piedmont Crisis Unit and Canton Ticino authority to speed up the production process in an effort to meet the pressing need for vital medical supplies.⁣ ⁣ The crisis we are all facing is a stark reminder that we must join together in every effort to combat the outbreak. UNITED WE WILL MAKE IT!

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“At Zegna, we believe our actions today will shape our tomorrow,” says Gildo Zegna, CEO of Ermenegildo Zegna, in a statement. “The pandemic we are all facing is a call for people around the world to take action. Each of us must do our part, in every way possible, to stop this global emergency.”

Other luxury brands converting their production facilities to supply medical masks and smocks include Gucci, Prada, and Salvatore Ferragamo, among others.
Words by Graeme Campbell
Style Editor