Mads Mikkelsen Exemplifies The Zegna Spring/Summer 2025 Collection's Ode To Silhouettes
For Zegna Spring/Summer 2025, Alessandro Sartori outlines a universe where soft silhouettes and sharp tailored construction exist in harmony.
For the Zegna Spring/Summer 2025 collection, creative director Alessandro Sartori toys with a question of silhouette through a careful stratification of inspirations, techniques, and artistic knowledge.
For the Zegna Spring/Summer 2025 collection, the tone was set by an overarching design philosophy that characterizes the brand as a whole—a transformation of formal attire into clothing that is lived-in, but structured, a look that gives life to a sense of enveloping elegance that is relaxed yet precise in every detail. For Alessandro Sartori, practical development starts from two fundamental aspects—materials and people.
Sartori's special attention to fabrics is not out of the ordinary, especially considering his studies in textiles, but what provokes fascination is the way in which he works his consideration of material into a close relationship with those who will actually wear his clothes.
"For a series of reasons, we have found a position on the market that works well but with a very heterogeneous audience," explained the designer backstage, "which is why the presence of non-professional wearers of different ages in the show was significant."
Instead of relying on the typical runway show scheduling, the casting for the Zegna Spring/Summer 2025 collection presentation began last October. Over the past few months, Sartori and his team had already met with the models they selected for the runway several times, so by the time the day of the show rolled around, everyone involved in production, design, and casting was well-versed in Sartori's vision for this collection.
"We decided to build our language starting from them. At the beginning of the season we draw a lot, after which we use the most important materials, in this case canvas, camel hair, raw linen and Japanese cotton, as canvases in raw colors with which to build the silhouettes that we then try on men aged 20 and 60 years of age. We bring them from the different parts of the world they live in and observe how they react to what they wear. Since we are not used to acting as models, we can immediately see if they feel at ease and this helps us understand if we are going in the right direction," Sartori said.
The result of all of those long meetings, practice sessions on the catwalk, and countless altered designs? A vision based on straight lines, perfect for embracing traditionally masculine silhouettes and designs, but also suitable for the growing number of women showing an interest in sporting the brand's creations.
For the Zegna Spring/Summer 2025 collection, Sartori implemented deeper pockets than typically seen in men's trousers to allow for casual gestures and a relaxed, but put-together air. This innovative new design philosophy resulted in somewhat oversized, but never floppy trousers, which rested on moccasins so deconstructed that they can fold in on themselves.
Jackets followed the same logic—somewhat unstructured, but expertly tailored, in line with Zegna's overall look. Unlike most of the pieces within the Zegna archives, many of the jackets and coats within the Zegna Spring/Summer 2025 collection were not double-lined—a sartorial choice that marks a new era for the brand and a new interest in experimentation with the concept of the silhouette that defined the collection.