Clothes of life, clothes for life, clothes with life
Milan, January 16, 2026 — The closet is much more than a space in which pieces of clothing are stored, protected and kept, acknowledging their endurance and upholding their value. It is a shrine in which the beauty of cherished items is celebrated, their memory preserved to be reenacted, their existence momentarily held captive until they are released again, endlessly. As a space of instinct and intuition, of thought and continuity, the family closet, ultimately, is a singular inheritance which keeps growing as generations meet through the act of wearing. It is the territory of endless encounters that happen over the span of several lifetimes, accumulating traces of lived lives that are passed on.
Set in an imaginary closet filled with real items coming from Gildo Zegna, Group Executive Chairman, and Paolo Zegna, both members of the third generation of the Zegna family — personal pieces, as well as clothing inherited from their ancestors — this ZEGNA collection originates in a deeply rooted love for weaving cloth and wearing clothes. A love so strong, the idea of throwing anything away is an unbearable, impossible prospect. Within this closet, a museum-like glass display case preserves “ABITO N.1”: the first suit, crafted in the 1930s, Su Misura, for Count Ermenegildo Zegna, in 100% Australian wool.
Fashion-making, for Artistic Director Alessandro Sartori, is rooted in experience. “As our outer, chosen skin, clothes are the pages of a diary we write throughout our whole existence. In this collection, a generational passage of batons happens inside a family closet in which belongings are protected from neglect in order for other members of the family to use them. I am after the sense of wonder that happens when one finds a piece that was owned by one’s father, grandfather, uncle; the discovery that comes from studying other ways of dressing, which prompts a willingness to try something new; the silent dialogue that ensues between bodies and ways to carry oneself. We take deep pride and make a lot of effort in doing what we do, so the idea of creating something that can be kept, reused and reinterpreted for a long time energizes us. The iconic Trofeo wool, born in 1965, is central to this collection, testifying to ZEGNA’s enduring commitment to excellence — a fabric which, by being reinterpreted to be something of today, prompts, again, an encounter of generations. Everything at ZEGNA starts from fabric; in this wardrobe, that foundation is combined with an intense process of testing, styling, wearing and improving garments and silhouettes, worked one-to-one on each model, time after time.”
The silhouette is long and loose, the attitude dégagé, the demeanor proper. Coats and jackets are longer and larger, with square shoulders; the full volume of trousers flows from a high, cinched waist. A symbol of a certain uptightness, the double-breasted closure gets playful: in some jackets it is reduced to 1/3, while in others it is reworked with the addition of a central horizontal button positioned between the traditional closures, allowing the jacket to be worn either as a classic double-breasted or fastened on the intermediate option, creating a looser, more open fit. The idea of allowing for a number of ways to wear things insists: blazers have a double set of lapels, blousons come with double collars. Overshirts are fluid and elegant; shearling or knitted bombers have texture and warmth, while the shifting of categories is constant.
A graphic sensibility characterizes the stand-up collar blazers with leather details, the quilted leather gilets and bombers. Accessories are outdoor slippers and moccasins in suede, wool felt and nubuck, squared glasses, felt-lined leather rain hats, and unstructured duffel bags and briefcases.
The palette is an impasto of creamy notes of stella alpina, meliga, and larice, organic tones of mogano, brandy, terra, corteccia, betulla, torba and bosco, accented with hues of zaffiro, bruma, and giada; anthracite grey and desaturated black nod to the very roots of classic dressing. Textures are richly woven and tactile: tweed fantasia in wool/paper or wool/alpaca; Trofeo wool printed flannel; washed double cashmere panno; grisaglia fantasia in Trofeo wool; washed cotton/wool oxford; denim; Oasi Cashmere fantasia shetland; Oasi Cashmere multimelange panno; compact mohair gabardine; Vellus Aureum double panno; technical silk gabardine; malfilè cover; heavy wool silk gabardine; double panno in wool cashmere, Falkland wool flannel.
In and out of the family closet, a connection of generations happens through true and tested values.
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zegna ZEGNA Winter 2026
