Zegna’s Alessandro Sartori Champions Timeless Design Over Trend-chasing
- Ritu Upadhyay
- Jun 4
- 4 min read
At WWD X Fashion Future's Global Fashion & Beauty Summit in Riyadh, in partnership with Mercedes-Benz and Chalhoub Group, artistic director Alessandro Sartori discussed the brand's upcoming Dubai fashion show and called the Middle East "the new center of the world."
Alessandro Sartori in conversation with James Fallon in Riyadh.
While many luxury brands were chasing the latest trends, Alessandro Sartori made a radical decision at Zegna: “stop changing.”
The artistic director’s counterintuitive strategy has transformed the Italian house from a traditional seasonal fashion player into a champion of what he calls “elevated workwear” — garments that look effortless but are constructed with the same 72-hour bespoke techniques used for the brand’s finest suiting.
Speaking at the WWD X Fashion Future’s Global Fashion & Beauty Summit, in partnership with Mercedes-Benz and Chalhoub Group at the Bab Samhan Hotel in Riyadh, Sartori outlined his philosophy and the brand’s strategic shift away from seasonal reinvention during a conversation with James Fallon, WWD’s chief content officer. The following day, Sartori was honored with WWD’s International Designer of the Year award, presented in the Saudi capital.
“We felt the need to redefine tailoring and to redefine what was men’s fashion in the luxury segment,” Sartori explained. “So we have decided to enter into a different paradigm. Instead of changing every season the trend and mostly working on the idea that it was important to change, we reversed the equation and we thought it was important to not change.”
This philosophical shift became particularly pronounced during the pandemic, when Sartori and his team recognized that customers were seeking something more meaningful than seasonal novelty. Rather than expanding their creative territory, they chose to “close the perimeter,” as he described it. “Within the borders, we are going deeper.”
The result is what Sartori calls “elevated workwear” — garments that appear uncomplicated from the outside but are technically sophisticated underneath. The brand now creates looks that pair overshirts with pants, short coats with pants, and outerwear with pants, sold as separates but designed to work cohesively as suiting.
Central to this approach is Zegna’s manufacturing heritage. The company operates five wool mills producing everything from classic fabrics to jersey, silk for outerwear, and jacquard weaves. Even pieces that might be categorized as sportswear are constructed using the same meticulous techniques employed in the brand’s bespoke suiting.
“Every ready-to-wear jacket is 10 hours of make. Made-to-measure is 14. Bespoke is 72 hours,” Sartori noted, explaining the three levels of Zegna’s production. “Even if they are defined as a sportswear garment, they are tailor-made in the same place where we do the made-to-measure and bespoke suits.”
Initially, the brand’s pattern makers were skeptical of applying bespoke construction techniques to casual pieces. “They were watching me like I was crazy. I’m sure when I left the door behind me, they were discussing, ‘we don’t want this guy anymore,'” Sartori recalled with a laugh. “But after a few months, they were in love with the work.”
The pandemic also accelerated Zegna’s transformation from product-focused selling to customer experience. Sartori shared an anecdote about a virtual styling session during COVID-19 lockdowns, where he guided a customer through his own wardrobe via video call, ultimately recommending a completely different purchase than what the client initially wanted.
“We try to transform the salespeople into stylists, and we have at least one very good stylist, more than one, in every store,” he explained. This personalized approach extends to Zegna’s “villa” concept — immersive retail experiences that recreate the atmosphere of the brand’s alpine headquarters.
Taking the Villa Concept to Dubai
The brand is planning an ambitious Dubai activation that exemplifies this approach. It will stage its first show outside of Italy in the emirate on June 11. Alongside that, they plan to offer a specialized customer experience. “In Dubai, we’ll have a fashion show in an amazing place, and just behind the stage of the show, we build the villa with huge spaces offering one exclusive collection,” Sartori revealed.
The five-day experience will include private viewings of the fashion show for VIP clients and more than 100 customers, each with individual appointments.
Sartori revealed that Zegna’s Dubai Mall location is the brand’s number-one store globally, underscoring the Middle East’s importance as a luxury market and the success of their experiential retail approach.
“There is a big difference, I think, between costly and expensive, and customers are valuing these very much,” Sartori observed. “If a garment has a lot of work they’re willing to pay. If a garment or a product is just expensive, we found that customers don’t pay anymore.”
This emphasis on craft over flash aligns with what many have termed the “quiet luxury” trend, though Sartori suggested such movements reflect deeper structural changes in the luxury market. “The higher you go, the more stable you have to stay,” he noted. “Customers today are walking with you. There is a journey between you and them, and you need to show that you believe in what you do.”
Reflecting on the rapidly growing Middle Eastern market, Sartori expressed enthusiasm about the region’s potential. “It is exactly when everything is changing that you can change. And I know that many, many companies are suffering, but also there are many brands that are investing, and there are a lot of new possibilities and this region has huge possibilities.”
The artistic director emphasized authenticity as crucial for brand building. “The more you are real, unique, honest and intellectually true, the more they feel it,” he said.
Looking ahead, Sartori believes the principles guiding Zegna’s evolution — craftsmanship, timelessness and genuine customer relationships — will become increasingly important as luxury consumers seek lasting value over temporary satisfaction.
“Today they invest in one product — one bag, one shoe, one jacket, one dress — because they feel that product is good for them for a period, and eventually you can also share that product, like a long time ago, inside your family,” he concluded. “It’s very, very important to give to a product that value and not to design to destroy what you did.”
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