BEAUTY: Clothing--Z Zegna

Fashion month has kicked off and Z Zegna showed a collection not on an official schedule but as an independent at a venue in Dubai which, to me, is a little tone deaf. The UAE is not nearly as strict as some countries in the Middle East but their human rights record is a little spotty and the LGBT community faces social stigma... same-sex relationships are actually criminalized. I see fashion companies chasing the money (I can't blame them for wanting to make a profit) and there is a lot of it to be had in Dubai. But I would hope these brands and houses could chase money ethically. It's not too much to ask and there are other brands and houses that have higher profiles than Zegna who do so. But enough of me, an old man screaming at clouds...

On to the garments themselves! For this Spring Summer '26 collection, artistic director Alessandro Sartori said he had been looking at ’60s and ’70s imagery of well dressed Italian gents, often from Turin. And indeed there is a glorious, easy silhouette at play here. Seaside clothing that seems like it could slide into summer evening wear for cocktails and parties. Fashion journalist Luke Leitch reported for Vogue that the fabrics were something to behold: washable leathers (!), fabric with yarns blending perpetually recyclable paper cellulose, ultralight linen, poplin, and silk suiting (one weighing in at just ten ounces!) and shirting in washed-out boating stripes in a sprezzatura-like wrinkled, crumpled finish.

Sartori gets big kudos for casting models in various age ranges--up to 70!...yes, old guys rule--and many of them walked the space barefoot, carrying their footwear in their hands, to conjure up the breezy, casual nature of the vaguely nostalgic collection. Watch the video of the atmospheric show below (oases of sand dunes and palm trees!), which opens and closes with lovely performances by James Blake (previously here). The show's tableau finale is somehow quite moving...

https://www.zegna.com/