Building momentum in fashion takes a moment. In the case of Alessandro Sartori, it took nearly a decade in which he slowly but surely introduced a new fluid silhouette and reassessed the issue of true luxury in men’s wear. According to him, it is all about fabric excellence. His latest show on a beautiful pier in Malibu introduced more than 50 different fabrics and textures, from beach towel linings to paper and linen mixes, in which he looked at the summer pieces as if he was designing a winter collection. Rich, deep, and technically so sophisticated with knitted leathers in bombers and cardigans to take luxury to a whole new level, underlining the notion of super quality when building a wardrobe that lasts for a lifetime. This is where Zegna is going now: statement items, luxury pieces which are part of a long thought-out modular dressing system, which all circle back to their raison d’être: Italy. Zegna is celebrating Italian values with its Villa Zegna concept, where not only the press and buyers get to see the latest collection, but a well edited selection of customers comes to the show as well to buy directly from the runway or special pieces in the ultimate fabrics like alpaca and vicuna. 

It feels like the Zegna family is mounting a direct response to the faux Italy that is the new ethos of another big brand. It nearly feels like the family has taken offense to the superficial handling of Italian core values and wants to set the record straight. Zegna is about family, entertaining, food, and of course clothes that are passed on from generation to generation. Real family values and not a collection called La Famiglia. Sartori chose the idea of Villeggiatura as a backbone to when Italian families get together in a far-flung villa, like the Zegnas had in Barbados or just a small apartment to spend the summer. The fact that this was a pier in Malibu in California did not matter at all, as Zegna is in global expansion mode and meticulously set up its Villa Zegna experience, taking over all the bungalows and pool at the Chateau Marmont, also a testament to the power of the brand. And while there is Oasi Zegna back home, the company made a generous donation to the Californian wildlife funds, which have suffered tremendously from the recent fires.