Everything you need to know about the Italian brand’s collections – available on MR PORTER now.

In 1910, when Mr Ermenegildo Zegna opened Lanificio Zegna – a wool mill located in the northern Italian town of Trivero, which is still in operation – he probably didn’t imagine that his passion for fabrics would result in the creation of a world-renowned brand, recognised not just for its exquisite and exotic textiles but its own range of elegant tailoring and refined casualwear. But this is very much the reality of the modern-day Ermenegildo Zegna, widely considered to be one of Italy’s foremost forces in menswear. As is evident from the selection of pieces that are debuting on MR PORTER today, the chief characteristics of the brand are a timeless approach to style (meaning what you pick up this season will certainly do you very well for the following one, if not for life), a peerless selection of fabrics (in fact, Zegna is still a major supplier of textiles to other luxury designers) and a typically Italian sharpness when it comes to cut and fit. Naturally, as the label has been doing this for more than 100 years, its output also represents a rather substantial amount of sartorial wisdom. So now is your chance to learn something. Scroll down to find three style propositions you will never regret committing to memory:

Though Ermenegildo Zegna is rightly patronised for its ready-to-wear collections today, its heritage as a manufacturer of fine fabrics certainly shows. Every collection is packed with finely crafted and often innovative materials, such as its double-faced “cashmere double” or “silk skin” – a pliant Chinese silk and Egyptian cotton mix. Which brings us to the above cardigan, knitted in warming yak yarn, and this complementary T-shirt woven not in cotton but in a fine slub wool. Both are classic designs made truly special by their exceptional quality – ensuring they’ll remain wardrobe staples for years to come.

Though it is often worn for professional purposes, the suit is sometimes not the most versatile of garments – this is particularly evident once you find yourself crumpled up on a business trip or stuck on a crowded commuter train. But, by choosing a suit in Zegna’s Trofeo wool (did we mention the brand is good with textiles?), you will minimise the discomfort of such situations, thanks to the fabric’s inherent strength, lightness and resilience. To arrive at this level of performance, the team at Ermenegildo Zegna has conducted long experiments with weave, weights and type of finish, as well as mixes of different fibres. This particular example (which will look impeccably crisp with a white dress shirt) has a hint of cashmere, adding warmth and softness to the suit’s appealing attributes.

When a brand like Ermenegildo Zegna gets behind a trend, you know it’s a keeper – so what more need we say about the necessity of a shearling jacket this winter? Let’s instead focus on the particularly pleasing features of this example, rendered in the finest Spanish lamb shearling and embellished with white flecks at the collar and a graphic leather trim across the front yoke and at the elbows. Wear it at the weekend with a checked shirt and expect to be pulling it out every winter for the foreseeable future.