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/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Misc. Milano Moda Uomo

Milano Moda Uomo wrapped today with some digital presentations but nothing in person, the same day that Paris Fashion Week started...that gives busy fashion journalists a minute to get from Italy to France! Anyhow, here are just a few details that caught my eye from Milan for Spring-Summer '25...

Fendi showed shirts whose plackets twisted off from the center, buttoning or snapping down the side. Some of them ended up as a shoulder-baring moment, like Jennifer Beals in "Flashdance" from back in the day (if you don't get that reference, Google it). I like that.

And Alessandro Sartori at Zegna included mature models in his show, which prompted Vogue fashion journalist Tiziana Cardini to refer to them as "handsomely grown-up." Delightful description, thank you Tiziana! And kudos to Sartori for showing that men in their 50s and 60s (and even 70s) are still viable. The show closed with actor Mads Mikkelsen who is the face of this SS '25 Zegna campaign.

https://www.fendi.com/
https://www.zegna.com/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Eremenegildo Zegna

Moving on from last season's thought-provoking collection called "The (Re)Set" (seen here) which obliquely addressed how the pandemic has shifted ways of being and dressing, Ermenegildo Zegna creative director Alessandro Sartori presents a SS '22 collection for Milano Moda Uomo called "The (New) Set" that continues the theme. A vision of how we will be dressing in a future that includes the collapse of traditional business models as well as the climate, Sartori worked with half kimono jackets with internal belts, deep pocketed workwear jackets, fitted blousons, and long duster jackets in a great variety of materials and were constructed using sartorial techniques (canvassing at the pockets, raglan sleeves). Sartori said of this collection, "The use of materials is becoming much deeper, and continuing the recycled process is bringing us to fibers we did not anticipate before, like hemp and silk. The focus is to work with this modular approach, to think each season not of what you don’t have but what you do have, and then how you might expand it without throwing anything away but in order to increase your choices and options. At the base of it all, I think, is that comfort has become key." I completely agree: these all look to be meticulously crafted garments of razor-sharp tailoring but feel so soft and easy to wear.

I love the accompanying film because it allows the freedom to escape the runway and show clothing in other settings, and drone work adds to the creativity of this presentation: many designers have risen to the challenge of the pandemic and created some wonderful filmic content to show collections and ideas...and I hope they continue to do so in the After times. Referencing the journey of the film, Sartori says, "It starts in a place where we have all been at some point, all of us, in our mind. Not literally, physically, because we all made our own subjective construction of this place and feeling. And then little by little it is replaced as we discover, and we become freer, until we become free—and then it ends with a beautiful dinner." And even though some of the models are female, they are still modeling menswear pieces scaled down for fit.

https://www.zegna.com/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Ermenegildo Zegna

The first offering at Milano Moda Uomo for the Fall-Winter '21-'22 season is from Ermenegildo Zegna. Creative director Alessandro Sartori and his team devised a new fabric of cashmere jersey in which to execute much of this loose, comfortable collection shown on both men and women, some mature (ageism is the last hurdle for the industry). The pandemic and work-from-home Zoom meetings have driven a further nail or two into the coffin of traditional business attire, and for this collection entitled "The (Re)Set," Sartori offers a slight nod to traditional details like lapels notched high at the collarbone and buttonable cuffs (along with blown-up, distorted versions of that classic menswear staple, the houndstooth check), but these appear on futuristic, monochromatic pieces like belted, kimono-style jackets and roomy, origami-shaped tops. These are daytime pajamas that can be worn out. But who goes out anymore? In fact, the theme of the film presentation is indoors (a bit of a David Lynchian surreal set of twelve rooms) vs. outdoors (modern Milanese locations like Piazza Olivetti, the new Bocconi campus, and Zegna’s own headquarters) and the juxtaposition of those two ideas. Watch: the film is obliquely thought-provoking if you see the patterns.

 

https://www.zegna.com/us-en/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Ermenegildo Zegna

For the label's '19-'20 Fall-Winter collection at Milano Moda Uomo, Ermenegildo Zegna creative director Alessandro Sartori chose to stage the show in the atrium of Milano Centrale, one of the largest train stations in Europe. And if the idea was travel, Sartori's destination was clearly snowy mountains and icy peaks, which makes sense since this is a Fall and Winter collection. But this was not a selection of average ski wear...Sartori chose to start with classic men's tailoring and suiting, but then gave it all a modern, edgy twist with trousers sporting three straps at the calf, and pant legs with inner insulating layers while jackets remained smart and stylish. This nudged the collection into a more "Chic, less street" appearance, according to Sartori. Shoes with double uppers and zip-up boots look like they could be worn to climb the Matterhorn or to ski the slopes in St. Moritz. All of this was presented in yummy autumn colors like plum, sable, blue slate, mustard, and icy blue. It seems simple...I usually like a bit more, um, ooomph and intrigue in a collection but there is just something so appealing about it all...

https://www.zegna.us

BEAUTY: Clothing--Ermenegildo Zegna

What an amazing retro-future Spring Summer '16 collection Stefano Pilati for Ermenegildo Zegna just showed at Milano Moda Uomo! Naïve madras and picnic plaids from the 50s and 60s in the form of car coats, trenches, and short waited jackets had a definite sleek feeling, especially when seen with the light, gauzy all-white section that closed the show. The collection lightly evokes a time period without being heavy handed yet still feels contemporary (thanks to the venue, a blindingly-lit white space) and completely wearable, something that is not a prerequisite for me liking a collection or designer. But I just want to don one of those white, gossamer-like outfits and have lunch in a lovely, palm-frond covered cabana by the ocean.

With the collection were some intriguing fringed suede moccasins and desert chuckka boots.

http://www.zegna.com/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Milano Moda Uomo SS '15 STRIPES!

The clear Hundredth Monkey moment for Milano Moda Uomo (and London Collections: Men) has turned out to be stripes! They are everywhere, starting as pinstripes in London and breaking out into wide bands and naval stripes in Milan!

Ermenegildo Zegna started things off with a nice array of stripes in navy, tan, and cream... I like the striped jacket tied around the waist of the double breasted pinstripe suit.

After Umit Benan's rather uncomfortable split from Trussardi last spring, Gaia Trussardi, great granddaughter of the brand's founder Dante Trussardi, has taken over all designing duties and for Spring Summer '15, she was inspired by zoot suits. Indeed, these stripes feel zoot-y and gangster-y, but in an updated rocker sort of way...

Emporio Armani showed classic, cool, sleek stripes. I LOVE the jacket in the middle in the second set! It reminds me of the amazing black and white striped Siena Duomo in Siena, Tuscany.

And Gucci showed a collection that was heavily influenced by a nautical theme. The collection and show began with uniform elements but thankfully, Frida Giannini, the Creative Director at Gucci, took a sharp left and the collection softened. What followed was a really fun, relaxed, even sexy, but completely wear-able collection. The last two images look so comfortable... and that last look is like a pajama set. I once spent an evening in Las Vegas touring all the major casinos and hotels in blue and maroon paisley silk pajamas and a long black luxe leather coat--you should try it sometime!

http://www.zegna.com/
http://www.trussardi.com/
http://www.armani.com/us/emporioarmani
http://www.gucci.com/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Milano Moda Uomo Misc. June 2013

Milano Moda Uomo has concluded, and here is a brief wrap-up of odds and ends, things worth mentioning...

Jil Sander is ever the minimalist, designing in patternless neutrals, which is why her use of color and pattern in her Spring-Summer '14 collection made it look as if she had lost her mind! But the beautiful, slick bonded-leather coats and jackets seemed more in keeping with her style.

Bottega Veneta showed suits with edges and features outlined and limned in what appeared to be remnants of tailor's chalk. Lapels and buttons are drawn on where none exist. The effect actually made the suits crisp and sharp!

Diesel Black Gold: Great thick double buckle belt and jeans that look bleached or paint splashed but in actuality are woven with a faded floral pattern in silver...

Donatella Versace's use of neon colored sports tape at first seems rather comical, but I have to admit the overall look is pretty cool... the bands of riotous color appearing all over the clothing and models' bodies looked celebratory and bright. Like racing stripes for a body...

Ermenegildo Zegna showed a funky detail: long sleeve tees rolled up over the cuffs of coats and jackets. Kinda gives the slick tailored look some street cred...

On to Paris Fashion Week!

http://www.jilsander.com/
http://www.bottegaveneta.com/
http://www.dieselblackgold.com/
http://www.versace.com/
http://www.zegna.com/us/home.html