Inside Ermenegildo Zegna’s Upcycled and Sustainable Menswear Collection for SS20

Hayley Kadrou   |   15-06-2019

Artistic Director Alessandro Sartori took to a former industrial complex just outside of Milan to present 48 menswear looks for the next season, with a focus of sustainable fashion for 2020.

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Ermenegildo Zegna menswear 9

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In 2019, the time has come when we can no longer ignore the need to lead a sustainable lifestyle, from the personal choices we make to the businesses we run. Something that Alessandro Sartori, who has been Artistic Director at Z Zegna since early 2016, has addressed with his latest menswear collection.

 

Taking to an abandoned industrial complex (which is fittingly set to be restructured into a hospital) Sartori presented a colourful menswear collection with a focus on sustainability. In fact, 20 per cent of the Spring collection for Ermenegildo Zegna was made using upcycled materials, nylon and wool in particular. This means instead of discarding cut off fabrics lost across the various stages of production, they were collection up and reformed into perfectly wearable garments.

 

On his mission with the collection that called for the hashtag #UseTheExisting, Sartori said: “It is our duty as denizens of this world to live responsibly. I want to do it using the creative means I have at my disposal, which extend from the materiality of fabric- making, to the exquisite technicality of tailoring to the highly communicative aspect of show-making.

 

Artistic Director Alessandro Sartori took to former industrial complex outside of Milan, to present 48 menswear looks

 

“Everything is connected, and everything conveys the same idea: we do not need to create the new from scratch, but we can reuse and reinvent the existing, getting progressive fabrics out of discarded ones, translating traditional techniques into innovative lifetime tailoring, turning an abandoned place into an area of creation.”

 

As for the styles themselves, lines were blurred when it comes to colour, with bomber jackers with worn-in marble shades and patchwork suit jackets sampling different faded tones and irregular patterns – all of which fed into the reused and old-but-new ethos of the collection. The silhouette adopted were neat – boxy blousons, voluminous coats, sleek three-button blazers and slim one-button jackets with 3D patch pockets are paired with lean yet soft trousers or fuller ones – and fabrics were firm but light, such as wools and technical silks. The overall feel was of an industrial elegance.

 

See more of our favourite looks above.

 

 

Ermenegildo Zegna SS20

Ermenegildo Zegna SS20

 

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