This season, his designs were a fresh, light antidote to the searing 29 degree heat in Milan, with a focus on long term excellence of fabrication over a hit bag. His choice of models was also notable – characterful men of a certain vintage with sweeps of grey hair alongside the more youthful types who normally walk catwalks. Oh, and choosing 58-year-old actor Mads Mikkelsen to grace the catwalk looking effortlessly cool, was the perfect triumph of men of substance over kids creating a social media frenzy.
“We wanted to create a moment to really consider how men dress today,” said Sartori. “We focused on the fabrics and fibres themselves to push new boundaries and explore different possibilities, it’s a gesture towards a different way of speaking and thinking about clothes.”
When Sartori rejoined Zegna in 2016, having first worked there back in the late 80s and early 00s before a term at Paris house Berluti, the rather mannered house – then termed Ermenegildo Zegna after its founder – was known for immaculate suiting. It still is, but it’s been radically re-branded as Zegna and created a mode of dressing that preceded the “soft luxury” movement that’s currently in vogue. The focus under Sartori is all about softness over rigid structure, natural fibres and neutral colours over the City Boy flashiness that used to denote a “successful” man.