Fall Is Shaping Up Nicely At Zegna
Review of Zegna Fall 2024 Fashion Show
By Angela Baidoo
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
THE THEME
Many do not register how a considered colour palette can be a powerfully communicative channel. As in fashion, it is rather the bold choices – which have of late been taken up as symbols for the year they were launched, i.e. Barbie pink, and used to saturate everything from coffee cups to Air BnBs. Then there is the choice to create monochromatically. A favourite pastime of designers who prefer to paint in black, so the clothes really can do the talking. Which is why Zegna always feels like a palette cleanser at the end of Men’s fashion week in Milan.
In the hands of Alessandro Sartori, the Italian brand has enabled colour to flourish (whether it be a spring or fall collection) making it that much easier for the Zegna customer to shop the brand. As they simply have to select their silhouette, and the option to buy it in complimentary colours comes as part of the package. For fall 2024 there was a breadth of choice (a signature trope of Sartori), where he presented rich hues and harmonious tones, which seemed to transition from one to the other, embodying a timelessness while still being of-the-moment, from camel to buttermilk, slate grey to vivid navy.
In the brands bid to become a company whose sustainability practices are measured and traceable, their collections (alongside the use of colour) are becoming known for their low environmental impact credentials, often achieved by starting at the beginning, with the fibres. Manifested today as a ‘Cashmere mountain’, miniature examples of which have also been farmed out to their stores and pop-ups, as if to drive home the point and truly engage the customer in the reality of where – and what – their clothing comes from. The ‘Cashmere mountains’ also serve as immersive visual reminders of Zegna’s commitment to achieving complete traceability with its cashmere fibres by 2024.
Referring to it as a ‘Complete system of dressing’, todays collection continues the exploration of buildable shapes which slot seamlessly over each other. Accomplished partly by the construction of chunky knits, puffy jackets, and slouchy trousers which all seem to consist of seductively curved and contoured edges. Creating clothing that would likely form a comforting cocoon around the wearer, akin to the properties of the cashmere fibres these shapes are formed from.
This softer take on linear form creates the illusion of the unstructured, but the oversized, even voluminous wool pants, boucle knitted sweaters, and drop-shoulder jackets will, without doubt, hold their shape with the best of them, due to the undeniable Italian craftsmanship which is also at play.
THE BUZZWORDS
Colour co-ordinated, expertly contoured, soft volume
THE SHOWSTOPPER
Look #47
With looks not made to shout, but work together as a collective, there is often not one that stands out each season, as each is designed to stand on its own merit. But Sartori’s layered crew neck sweater with its clipped shearling fur chevron design, asks the question of when is a sweater, not just a sweater.
THE DIRECTION
THE WRAP UP
Gaining more and more brand recognition with every collection, collaboration (think Elder Statesman), and celebrity endorsement (it has been worn by the likes of Lewis Hamilton, John Boyega, and global ambassador Leo Wu) Zegna is still charting its own course within the menswear market. And is making its mark amongst those who want to be creative, in a systematic way – think colour, cut, or construction.
Because of the care Sartori takes in the selection of the fabrics which start the process, his slouchy trousers could never be considered casual, and his deliberately tailored sloping shoulders are a sleek shift away from the norm.
