MILAN — One never stops learning.

Take Davide De Giglio, the Italian entrepreneur and businessman who cofounded New Guards Group and helped mastermind the strategies behind lots of trending fashion brands. After exiting NGG in June 2023 — four years after the business was sold to Farfetch — and establishing his investment firm D Capital the same year, he has found new ways to put his expertise to good use — and still get surprised in the process, too.

“Many of the successes I’ve had in the past were also due to speed of execution. In this case, it took us four years just to start,” he told WWD about Eredi Zucca, the Milan-based grooming brand that is part of D Capital’s beauty portfolio along with the likes of Isamaya Beauty and Officina Profumo Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella.

“I’ve learned that a project like this, in order to succeed, must be built with a long-term vision,” said De Giglio, who in the past also contributed to turn Rhode into a blockbuster.

Eredi Zucca officially launched in 2023 and builds on the legacy of the Zucca family of barbers, which dates back to 1652, when Carlo Antonio Zucca opened his first barber shop in Milan. As a first step of the project, De Giglio wanted to bring back the authentic barber experience. At the end of 2023, he cut the ribbon of the Barberia of Eredi Zucca barber shop in Via Bigli 6 here and introduced a full range of products encompassing grooming, hair care, body care, skin care and accessories.

“What inspired me to invest [in this venture] was the will to create a product with its own DNA — quality, sustainability, and the roots of a story designed and produced in my city,” said De Giglio. “Barbers were the first doctors; they have accompanied mankind’s history for millennia. It’s an extremely fascinating world, full of knowledge and experimentation, and I simply wanted to carry these values forward.”

On Monday, the label will make another step forward, breaking into fragrances with a line that pays tribute to the history of Milan.

“I have been working on this project from the very beginning,” said De Giglio, underscoring his desire “to create a fragrance collection that would make the brand’s offering complete.”

Four master perfumers worked on developing the eight perfumes in the range, including Blaise Mautin, Marie Urban LeFebvre, Nanako Ogi and Luca Maffei. For their creations, they were tasked with capturing the scents of historic barber shops via quality raw materials and a nod to the visionary thinkers and trailblazers who have shaped the city’s cultural, artistic, political and intellectual scene.

Examples range from “Tobacco,” dedicated to Ludovico il Moro — Duke of Milan and patron of Leonardo da Vinci — that blends cigar notes, patchouli and geranium with hints of cinnamon to “Cuoio,” which pays tribute to composer Giuseppe Verdi with a smoky mix of rich woods, benzoin, patchouli freshened by vetiver, bergamot and citrus notes.

Other fragrances include “Narciso,” inspired by the painter Caravaggio; “Ultima Cena,” the olfactory homage to da Vinci and his masterpiece “The Last Supper”; “Duomo,” nodding to Gian Galeazzo Visconti, who promoted the construction of Milan’s landmark cathedral, and “Veritas,” dedicated to poet and novelist Alessandro Manzoni, among others.

Each scent comes in a glass flacon with brass elements, including the engraved cap and a cameo of each personality. Available only in a 100-ml. format priced at 250 euros each, the fragrances will initially launch at the Milan barber shop and the Eredi Zucca online store. Distribution in select wholesalers across Europe and the U.S. will follow.

“We see our concept positioned both in retail and in hospitality. There will certainly be development, but it will be very selective,” teased De Giglio, without offering more detail.

The overall strategy extends to Eredi Zucca’s expansive catalogue devoted to men’s self care and well-being and divided into clusters identified by different colors — green for shaving and beard care, white for skin care, brown for body care, and burgundy for hair care. Formulated across four French and Italian laboratories, products claim to contain between 84 percent to 90 percent naturally derived ingredients, certified actives and patented extracts.

Tools and accessories are part of the assortment and exemplify the high-end and craft focus of the company, as seen in razor handles and bristles made from deer horn, ebony or resin by artisans, who also create brushes and combs, saffiano leather beauty cases and the brand’s signature marble jars.

The products are in sync with the barber shop’s old-school aesthetic, combining columns, capitals and green marble with opulent mosaic flooring, black ebony walls, coffered ceilings and metopes crafted by Venetian glassmakers. One of the standout elements of the space is an entire wall of lockers — 72 small cabinets, each bearing the handwritten initials of the barber shop’s regular clients and showcasing their private tools. 

Three rooms and a master suite offer shaving, hair care and facial treatments ranging from express face massages and 30-minute beard trimming priced at 30 euros and 50 euros, respectively, to two-hour long beauty sessions retailing at 230 euros.

“This is a market that has yet to truly take off, and its potential is the same as fashion,” said De Giglio about the men’s beauty segment. Ditto for the cosmetic industry at-large, which “is evolving very quickly, with its spectrum expanding more and more — from inner beauty to cosmeceuticals.”

In addition to having a majority stake in Eredi Zucca, De Giglio was a cofounding investor of Isamaya Beauty and took a minority stake in Officina Profumo Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella in 2022. Most recently, D Capital made its first foray into fashion by acquiring a 55 percent stake in menswear brand Umit Benan. The portfolio also includes a luxury food extension with Volzhenka Caviar.

“The three pillars of D Capital are lifestyle, beauty and food, and they will always remain so,” said De Giglio, who aims to expand along those three branches. “The search is ongoing, every day,” he continued. “We look for what we consider hidden gems: stories of people or brands we can help develop through our experience.”

The firm’s ultimate mission is “to create a modern platform capable of capturing the needs of the market, supporting our partners and investments, and learning from mistakes as much as from successes,” he concluded.