WHAT LIES BENEATH
Ermenegildo Zegna’s Alessandro Sartori celebrates fashion’s move from a statement of a man’s status to an expression of his core identity.
BY RADHINA ALMEIDA COUTINHO
For centuries man has desired to blend in, to belong.
“To be truly elegant one should not be noticed,” Regency dandy Beau Brumell famously said of what any well-dressed man should aspire to. Ornamentation and making a statement was a pursuit best left to the fairer sex.
Woe the man who chose not to conform, or worse, deliberately chose to stand out. The risk of embarrassment in wearing a flamboyant bow tie when it should have been black, tails when a dinner jacket would have sufficed, or loafers instead of oxfords would have dissuaded even the most expressive young man who retained any desire to maintain his social standing.
Today, things are different. Something Ermenegildo Zegna’s Artistic Director Alessandro Sartori says he and Zegna applaud.
“What I see today is very similar to what women have always been doing and what men didn’t. It’s related to the styling and self expression – so the possibility to wear garments in your own way, whatever this means. From simple things like rolling your sleeves or changing the shape of a collar, perhaps it was fitted and you want it standing. Or the way you button or unbutton a blouson or zip or unzip a coat … that personal one-to-one idea which is not a cliché is very similar to what women have always been doing. I like that. And at Zegna we like that, and we do it.”
According to Sartori, styling is the biggest actor on today’s fashion stage and it’s a force that’s both driven by and driving a larger trend towards freedom of expression.
“There are macro trends, but there are also a lot of brands that are quite strong in doing things that are very peculiar and far removed from macro trends. I think this is particularly important and reflects another layer which relates to you – who you are, the type of feelings and emotions you have, how they relate to your life and all the values you want to embody,” says Sartori.
“I see very strong parallelisms between these two different points. On one side, personally we need to be free to feel our own emotions and to have our own opinions; and at the same time we need to feel free to express ourselves and to find the best and the most beautiful outfit, or garment that expresses who we are.”
He continues: “And this is a very big step and the main difference compared to the past – when stereotypes of masculinity like the macho man or of distinct seasonal trends were particularly strong and had an influence in a very universal way. Today it is different, and as far as Zegna is concerned, we are following this idea of a very strong connection between the pure craft and the idea of giving our customers a variety of options. This extends from the clothing we create to everything we do such as the casting of the talent in our shows and campaigns.”
According to Sartori, men’s fashion has moved confidently towards greater elaboration and experimentation. And brands are having to evolve to give men the tools to express the myriad facets of their individual personalities and emotional profiles.
“I just think the modern time is more about an approach where you adapt to individuals rather than telling them ‘Listen! This season it’s just about this.’ So yes, there are trends and in Zegna we have our own, but we like the idea of this very personalized approach. I am attracted to but I am not attached to a specific thing, and I don’t dictate a particular silhouette for each season. I think to be able to elaborate, to create a lot of different possibilities, to go deeper into the one-to-one approach is more important than ever.”
“Today there isn’t just one definition of masculinity anymore because we see brands who are expressing elements such as very big shoulders with a lot of bold garments and bold colors, whereas other brands are the opposite and fragility becomes much more a value. It is a point that was never considered or that we didn’t consider much before,” says Sartori.
Some may feel that giving voice to self-expression, multiplicity and male fragility has already been done to death; if not in the hallowed world of heritage Italian menswear - where the optics of a suave, clean shaven, wool and cashmere draped gentleman continue to dominate - then definitely on the high street which has embraced and championed individuality and a sympathetic treatment of diversity for years.
Sartori says for Zegna, it was important to place themselves within this conversation.
The brand has done so decisively by eliciting the talents of two-time Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali and Hong Kong actor and singer Nicholas Tse to confront traditional ideas of masculinity with an openness to question one’s identity and demonstrate vulnerability and sensitivity.
“It is a big step forward because we are exposing ourselves to – I don’t want to say judgement – but for sure when we start a conversation with people, that can also be the starting point of criticism or an expression of different opinions,” says Sartori. “At the same time though, we think that it is particularly important to have an opinion, to have a possibility to spread the word.”
He adds: “We want to open a conversation around masculinity. We don’t want to create a diktat or a rule because there isn’t just one definition.”
According to Sartori, it’s a conversation men around the world are getting more comfortable having, and this openness is being reflected in the choice of formal menswear and a pivot from the classic silhouettes, fabrics and color palettes of the golden era of 50s and 60s fashion that continue to be admired as the pinnacle of fine style.
“Definitely, the core principles of classic menswear are still very, very important - beautiful fabrics, beautiful construction, certain expressions of beautiful tailoring - such as the idea of a bespoke made-to-measure garment are important. But are the concepts as rigid as they were at the time? No.”
Functionality is starting to play a strong hand, as is sustainability.
“For sure we are seeing more technical fabrics in tailoring - and I don’t mean only nylon or synthetic fibers - I also mean technical wool, technical cashmere and so on, I see a lot of this performance-driven approach entering into materials. Of course, we first seek beautiful design and beautiful style, but when we buy a garment today, we look for real value and functionality and for sure this trend is going to be very important in the future,” says Sartori.
Recycled fibers are today also proudly worn as badges of honor. Supporting a production cycle that favors zero waste is starting to inform customer and corporate choices, including Zegna’s commitment towards sustainable wool farming and fiber re-use.
But punctuating almost every trend forecast Sartori discusses, is the element of individuality, layering ideas and experimentation.
“Mixing proportions, mixing sportswear and tailoring, mixing technical and natural fabrics is the main approach for the men we have in mind,” he says.
With regards to silhouettes Sartori sees a role for both rigidity and fluidity. “When I style big shapes for which I need very heavy fabrics, it is a nice idea to layer them with very fluid materials. This idea of layering different surfaces is a mega trend.”
He also sees a more varied color palette becoming a mainstay in classic formalwear.
“There are a lot of beautiful shades of neutral colors today that are as important as before - such as blue, or gray or black. But if you think of green as an example - I don’t want to say it was a forbidden color before, but in a way it was. Today khaki green or a gray green is as important as gray or brown, so there are a lot of new layers and trends even in the color palette. For sure, there are colors that we use now that were not used as much before – pink is another example. So, we definitely have a more elaborated color palette.”
According to Sartori, it is not so much a question of constantly breaking the rules as it is about making them your own. He credits the highly visual culture of social media with helping men find the image they most identify with.
“In my opinion there is more freedom but also a lot more knowledge, so actually because of the media, because of digital platforms, because of all what we see in the pictures - whether it is of ordinary people, influencers, celebrities, actors and so on - it is very different from what it was ten years ago. Today we have the possibility to express ourselves but also to see other people and recognize part of what we would like to be, or to wear according to how we feel and the persons we are.”
“So yes, there is very strong knowledge about the rules but also much more freedom to express ourselves in a very personal way. And this goes down to selecting the garment, the styling, or the association we have with different products and brands.”
“The goal is to open yourself to new possibilities. Because if you stick to the rules that you had ten years ago, it’s impossible.”
For Sartori, the man of today is akin to society at large - an entity in flux, one that is constantly shifting, evolving, crystalizing and unraveling, while all the time trying to stay true to its core identity.
“I like the idea of collecting garments and being able to mix different things from different seasons in your own wardrobe, that to me is particularly important. You create a new shape, you create a new silhouette, you create a new idea - but it’s working also with the last couple of seasons. This is a creative approach where we collect pieces - as we all do honestly - and we don’t throw away all we’ve bought just to wear new stuff. New pieces are important because your image is refreshed and so is your style, but why not be able to mix that with garments from previous seasons?”
The legacy of traditional ideals of masculinity in fashion is similarly not stagnant but one that is free to evolve into something that feels less anachronistic and more authentic. Fashion after all has always been used as an identity signaling device. But today it’s much less prescribed and much more subscribed.
