June 22, 2022: Taking cues from previous collections and developing a similar language, Zegna’s Summer 2023 collection is wonderfully uplifiting.
A feeling of extreme lightness runs through the whole collection. It is pragmatic and free rather than constrictive. Shapes are loose and unstructured, barely touching the body: kimono-cut jackets, impalpable coats, shirts and tops that double as outerwear. Trousers have rounded shapes minus the ironed pleats. Bermuda shorts further free movement, while tailored blazers are freed from the necessity of having a collar.
This new language in which inside and outside, underlayer and outer layer are subverted, owes much to the ease of knitwear. Technological research allows turning mesh into fabric, fashioning new families of garments that are technical and extremely light. Transparency affirms the idea of weightlessness.
Engineered knitwear, technical silk, meshes, rubberized nylons, wools, terry, rubberized leather, lacquered nappa come in an earthy palette accented with notes of powder white, butter cup, dusty rose, honey, vicuña, mocha, hickory, charcoal, sulfur and black.
Elaborate intarsia, naturalistic jacquards and screen-prints give movement to otherwise solid surfaces. Extra light, capacious bags, massive soled loafers and transparent wraparound glasses finish the looks.
The iconic Triple Stitch Sneaker, a global success for the Maison, debuts with an inedited version designed by Alessandro Sartori with Daniel Bailey, the London based designer footwear innovator, founder of Conceptkicks, better known as Mr. Bailey. The collaboration between the two creatives, based on a unique footwear crafting process, is an unparalleled experiment where luxury materials match perfectly with up-to-date accomplishments.
Commenting on the new shapes and textures of this collection, Artistic Director Alessandro Sartori says, “My work stems from a question: what’s next for tailoring? And for the needs of the lives of today? The idea is to use our craftmanship as a progressive tool, keeping the finesse, the attention to detail, the respect of materials while experimenting with shapes that are light and materials, solutions and finishes that give these shapes a new technicality, to mostly building up a new silhouette where effortless and innovation create a new style for men. In doing so, we keep expanding and solidifying a distinctive language, the one of Zegna.”
