Ermenegildo Zegna XXX F/W 2019

In a country where the right party runs riot and mainly finds its strength from bashing immigrants, the opening show of Milan men’s fashion week made a powerful statement for inclusion and acceptance. But then that’s what important fashion brands are about: capturing the Zeitgeist and making a statement about the times we live in. Alessandro Sartori chose the Stazione Centrale in Milan as his show location. The grand, Mussolini-era built palace of a train station built by architect Ulisse Stacchini in 1931 where more than 120 million passengers go from A to B every year. A powerful metaphor for human encounters, hello’s and bye bye’s and personal journeys. It was a smart choice and the ethnically diverse casting of mostly models of color impressed. Generally, you see black kids hanging outside the train stations in Italy flogging their merchandise and here they were modeling the most expensive and beautifully tailored clothes out there. On top of the social commentary, Sartori proved that he is willing to shake up the idea of how luxury men’s clothes are perceived. His stellar line up of tailored sportswear for Z Zegna at Pitti was more inspired by classic tailoring conventions while he tries to modernize a street wear vocabulary with his couture line. This time heavily inspired by utilitarian clothes and a khaki color card.

What about the clothes?

For Zegna Couture or now called Zegna XXX, Sartori has chosen to create hybrid tailoring. Let’s not forget, at the end of the day, Sartori is a real tailor but he has understood that the new customer wants jackets with outerwear pockets or does not mind a short bomber worn over a longer tailored jacket. He addressed this in his runway outings from the very beginning even his cargo pants have a sartorial spin.

Zegna heritage?

As one of the biggest luxury fabric producers in the world, the Zegna company is all about textile innovation. This collection was made with exclusive cashmere, nylon and wool fabrics created by the famous textile division based in Trivero in the Italian Alps. Sartori asked the engineers to put a focus on pre-existing sources meaning fabrics that are recycled and can easily be recyclable. Another important factor to be successful in today’s fashion landscape where consumers grow ever more aware of sustainability.

The silhouette?

Sartori opted for bold volumes. All his parkas and coats were long and nearly floor sweeping and he even elongated his tailored jackets. Ever obsessive to details, most of his pockets were geometric, the closures hidden with lots of detachable collars.

Insider knowledge?

Sartori is a real football fan and his heart belongs to A.C. Milan. He even holds season tickets there. And guess who built the Giuseppe Meazza stadium commonly known as San Siro where A.C. plays? Right, the same Ulisse Stacchini. Sartori has a weakness for impressive architecture. His summer show was held at the Oscar Niemeyer-built Mondadori Spa headquarters.

Daniel Brühl?

Sartori is cleverly keeping in touch with Daniel Brühl . Even in his early Z Zegna designer days, he invited the then less known actor to his smaller events in Berlin. At the moment, with his TNT hit show The Alienist, his face is all over billboards not in Berlin but Los Angeles making him Germany’s number one actor.

His look?

Seems that Sartori has asked his groomers to give him a new razor-shaven cut with three different lengths.