28 Jan 2022
Moving forward on a path of its own has set Zegna apart since 1910. The road ahead is so steeped in the brand’s ethos and actions that it has turned into the graphic signifier for Zegna’s newly rebranded visual identity: our road. The Zegna road originates in the mountains, and crosses Oasi Zegna, the free-access natural territory in Piedmont, Northern Italy. Known as 232, this road is our inspiration, as it defines our path and has been woven into everything we do for the last 112 years. It echoes our founder’s essential truth of hoping to weave the fabric of a tomorrow that feels worthy of our dreams.
Our road unwinds through an all-encompassing mindset: one that, in the vision of Artistic Director Alessandro Sartori, coalesces into a precise idea of the masculine wardrobe, contextualized in the here and now. The sartorial re-set, initiated one year ago, is finally settling into an organic language: a repertoire of new shapes and new functions merging aesthetics, ethics and performance. A vocabulary, after all, is a living organism: a veritable path, unfolding and turning, consolidating and growing as times move.
“I keep looking at the world through the Zegna lens. The reality we live in today requires adaptability; it asks us all to be fluid. Translating this idea into clothing means building a language of shapes and textures that grows and consolidates over time, matching the needs of the moment. The notion of the hybrid is one I keep exploring, because there’s progress in erasing staid categories”, says Alessandro.
The collection gently yet firmly assesses what a contemporary style should look and feel like: functional and individual, comfortable yet not conformist, heralding an evolved idea of formality that seamlessly switches from the great outdoors to life indoors. The layering and the fusion of shapes and functions sets the tone: trapeze-shaped coats are worn over taped, technical silk inner shells; ripstop anoraks are made of wool; fine leathers are cut into shirts bonded in cashmere, worn either alone or under blazers, while pullovers and thick jumpers are meant as outerwear. The divide between inside and outside, layers and outerwear, is blurred and continuously turned. The silhouette is fluid yet sharp, made of effortless sums of garments: tabarro coats and jackets, utilitarian jackets, parkas, anoraks and pullovers, trousers that taper at the hem. Collars, pockets and closures feature subtle details that bring movement to the surface making it integral to construction.
Shapes and functions are highlighted by a choice of dense fabrics, modulated in an organic array of colors. #UseTheExistingTM gabardine, scuba wool, technical silk, wool denim and the newly created Oasi Cashmere define the textures of layered looks that blend light notes of salt, frost white and slate grey with deep notes of ebony black and mahogany brown and accents of Zegna vicuna color, vintage brass and aubergine quartz. The overall solidity of the surfaces is interrupted by a tie-dye and jacquard stripe that interprets the new Zegna signifier, and by mended motifs that swarm on thick jumpers and on knitwear-outerwear. Padded, capacious bags, scuba boots and goggles add the finishing touch.
The collection is presented in the form of a film that constantly flips the viewpoint, juxtaposing great outdoors scenarios with abstract, almost mental interiors, pineal shots and close-up details. Following an ideal road, the camera moves and swifts around, involving the viewers in an all-surrounding visual and emotional experience that culminates in a celebration of human bonding, featuring an exclusive performance of the French choreographer Sadeck Waff which, through the Zegna signifier, symbolizes our craftmanship and the 160 hands that manufactured the collection.
The path of innovation and evolution is affirmed as the only one worth taking. For Zegna, that’s the road: our road, Made in Italy.
