The New Wave of Cool

ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA DESIGNER: ALESSANDRO SARTORI

There couldn't be a better fit for the world's largest luxury menswear label Ermenegildo Zegna, than Alessandro Sartori. Sartori exercised his vision of luxury at ZZegna for over a decade, went to Berluti, and now he's back as the artistic director of the Ermenegildo Zegna group. His task was to give a more relaxed take on the spiffy suit following the trend of casual suiting. Fact is, most men are not required to wear a strictly tailored suit five times a week. Given that Zegna is ultimately a suiting brand and Sartori is a tailoring geek - how do they measure up?

Perfectly, going by Sartori's collection for Fall/Winter. Since the brand's inception in 1910, Zegna - which started out as a wool mill-has always placed great emphasis on fabric quality. With that in mind and the most luxurious fabrics at his disposal, Sartori embarked on a creative direction that appeals to a new generation of high-flyers without sacrificing the house's strict tailoring codes. The outcome? Sporty tailoring with luxe fabrics including exquisite calf leather trench coats, jacquard slim-fit trousers, structured bombers in wool alpaca and leather panelled herringbone suits. Says Gildo Zegna, Ermenegildo Zegna's chief executive officer of Sartori's appointment: "He is now more mature and more intense," and that it was the right time to have him back…