by Alessandro Sartori redefines ZEGNA as it enters a new era with the help of people like Mr. Bailey and has now welcomed The Elder Statesman into her atelier to create her latest collaboration.
Secretly debuting at ZEGNA’s Winter 2023 runway show “The Oasi of Cashmere”, Sartori and Greg Chait delivered the capsule that brought the duo’s worlds together. Masculine luxury and timeless class intersect with Californian freedom, and we can finally analyze the results in the lookbook of this collaboration.
With craftsmanship at the core of this capsule, ZEGNA and The Elder Statesman craft everything from cashmere – one of the best, if not the best, materials to work and wear in the world. In doing so, the House reinforces its promise of dressing its men in clothing that is durable and longs to live, pushing ahead of trends with clothing that is as soft to the eye as it is to the touch.
Throughout the collection, plaid is a nod to California’s surfing and skateboarding culture and their shared love of sun-bleached flannel. ZEGNA takes this concept and applies it to everything, wrapping itself in robes, workwear-inspired outerwear, board shorts, scarves and more traditional drop-shoulder shirts. The colors are quintessential The Elder Statesman, burning bright orange, green, yellow and blue, just like a Los Angeles sunset.
The worn corduroys are crafted from cashmere, subverting another part of California’s luxury lifestyle. Lilac, bacca red, green, aurora yellow, green and vicuna are used as a palette here, sometimes saturated and muted in others, to balance the collection for indoor, outdoor, living room or sophisticated use – see light orange suit loose fit is the best example of this hybrid approach to dressing.
Completing ZEGNA’s world of freedom and The Elder Statesman are bucket hats and matching peaked caps crafted from felted cashmere, brushed cashmere slip-on boots, and the star of the show, a zip-up cardigan featuring a variety of prints and motifs similar to The Elder Statesman’s signature aesthetic.
Speaking about the collaboration, ZEGNA Art Director Alessandro Sartori said: “Dialogues like this allow us to add new layers to our world by finding other forms of expression for Oasi Cashmere. We worked on this collection completely together, combining our shapes with The Elder Statesman’s signature colors and ubiquitous spontaneity. It is this idea of cross-pollination that takes place in Oasi Zegna as a natural organism and can be turned into a business and creative model that allows us to reach new audiences.”
Chait added: “We are honored to work with what we believe is one of the best brands and manufacturers in the world. At the heart of this partnership are two companies that value the way things are made. In fact, sometimes we feel like ZEGNY’s eccentric cousins opening a shop in Los Angeles, bringing centuries-old craftsmanship to a new world. This partnership feels like a homecoming, and after two and a half years of deep and meaningful discussions with ZEGNA, our jointly designed collection is a symptom of something much bigger: an appreciation of quality, craftsmanship and a deep mutual respect. 6,000 miles from Oasi Zegna (in Piedmont, Italy) is our factory in downtown Los Angeles, an Oasi of our own making.”
The ZEGNA and The Elder Statesman collection can be seen in the lookbook above and will be available at key ZEGNA boutiques, The Elder Statesman retail channels and select wholesale partners from September 2023.
In other news, Saint Laurent has refined its silhouette study for winter 2023.
