Alessandro Sartori understands the crucial power of location to get a fashion message right. Last season, to mark his return to Zegna’s creative helm, the venue was of such epic proportions it would have crushed the ambitions of a less self-confident designer. This evening, to frame his Summer collection, Sartori chose a setting that was scaled down in proportion, but not in drive. It was held in an intimate courtyard of Milan’s Università Statale, a Renaissance architectural gem. It felt very personal to the designer: “I used to come here when I was a student,” he explained while touring the cloister’s arcades at a press preview before the show. “I loved the quiet, the silence, the sense of peace. Milan is full of secret places like this one. And I loved the idea of confronting classicism with a modern approach.”
Sartori had the space transformed into a futuristic garden, whose lawns of granular sand were tinted with tangerine pigments so intense they had an almost hallucinogenic effect. He was inspired by the natural rusty color of the vicuña, a llama-like creature whose extremely fine wool is one of Zegna’s luxurious trademarks.
The set was a surreal yet fitting backdrop for a collection where color played a major part, together with a feeling of fluid lightness. A palette of geranium, freesia, lotus, and aqua was offset by natural shades of vicuña or darker tones of slate gray and anthracite. Sartori made lavish use of washed silks to convey his message of a malleable style; deconstructing the formal codes ingrained in Zegna’s DNA, he made the clothes breathe, creating an airy, outdoorsy feel.
Volumes had a soft allure, highlighting the weightless substance of sport-inspired blousons in micro-nubuck and suede worn with tailored joggers. Scoop–neck silk sweaters replaced shirts under blazers so impossibly light, they weighed only 200 grams. The sense of ease and freedom of movement was perceptible. Sartori recently collaborated with the choreographer Benjamin Millepied, a longtime friend, designing the costumes for L.A. Dance Project’s performances in Marfa, Texas, hosted by the Chinati Foundation. He created a series of looks in blends of stretch silk and jersey, designed to stretch and flex with the dancers’ bodies. The experience was so exhilarating and enjoyable for the designer it was almost seamlessly translated into today’s collection.
