It’s been a journey for Zegna since Covid-19 became a global disruption. And arguably, for the better. It perhaps may have accelerated changes that we’ve seen from the brand—the single-name branding, an introduction of a coloured signifier, and a more outright focus on eco-consciousness.
Zegna’s autumn/winter 2023 runway show was the first to be held in Milan since 2020. After a few digital and ‘phygital’ shows, Zegna stuck to its Oasi Zegna headquarters, shuttling over editors and attendees on the final day of Milan Fashion Week Men’s. It felt like a reinvention; a reintroduction to Zegna and the path that it was about to chart, starting from homeground.
It was evident from the autumn/winter 2023 runway show that the learnings during the pandemic have helped solidify Zegna and artistic director Alessandro Sartori’s intent: a constant evolution of menswear based on craftsmanship of materials.
“At Zegna I have the unprecedented opportunity to create fabrics from weaving through to finishing, challenging our manufacturers, pushing them to explore uncharted waters. This allows me to mould our silhouettes right from the matter, making sure that our commitment to innovation and excellence is rooted in every step of the process. The result is an all-encompassing language that is truly progressive,” Sartori says in the collection notes.
It’s most evident in Oasi Cashmere, Zegna’s pet project of fully traceable fabrics that it’s aiming to achieve by 2024. Oasi Cashmere fabrics were a big part of the autumn/winter 2023 collection, appearing in a number of iterations including coated and uncoated bouclés (look 18) and double-faced jacquard meltons. It’s brilliantly crafted in the sense that these are pieces that one wouldn’t necessarily be able decipher its composition just by look alone—a wholly tactile experience that’s a key part to luxury.
That’s what Sartori is truly adept at: exuding a kind of quiet luxury that’s often talked about but not necessarily well understood.
Silhouettes were kept voluminous with a tailored ease to them; nothing was almost ever close to the body but rather languidly floating away. Overshirts had cropped sleeves that lent a sportier aesthetic while still retaining essences of menswear tailoring. There was this constant play of blurring lines between formal and casual for a collection that felt like neither and could undoubtedly exist in either.
What wasn’t explicitly noticeable was a collaboration with LA-based brand Elder Statesman. More will be revealed by Zegna at the end of February during Paris Fashion Week. It perhaps will run along a similar idea of Zegna’s previous collaboration with Fear of God where ideas were exchange with the latter having access to Zegna’s fabric expertise.
In any case, the fact that it wasn’t noticeable exemplifies Zegna’s status as one of menswear’s important brands—that it can collaborate without feeling the need to do so in brash ways.
View the full Zegna autumn/winter 2023 collection in the gallery below.
