Italian menswear label Zegna travelled to Los Angeles to unveil its spring/summer 2027 collection. Named La Villeggiatura – an Italian word referring to a leisurely stay in a beautiful location, typically during the summer months – the show took place on the Malibu Pier, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The brand transformed the seaside spot into an Italian-style beach club with striped umbrellas and seats in bright orange.
The Malibu Pier decorated with orange beach umbrellas for Zegna’s show. Photo: HandoutTaiwanese model Philip Huang opened the show clad in an off-white double-breasted pinstriped jacket and matching pants paired with an unbuttoned blouse. That suave outfit set the tone for a collection designed for lazy summer days.
Zegna’s artistic director Alessandro Sartori envisioned the runway as a passeggiata (leisurely stroll in Italian) along the beach, which resulted in loose silhouettes and a relaxed vibe for a collection that was a modern take on Italian lifestyle and California’s laid-back cool.
The show opened with a pinstriped look in a loose cut. Photo: Handout
The starting point for the range, Sartori explained in a chat with editors the day after the show, was a nautical collection named E. Zegna Yachting that the brand made in the 1970s and 80s, when it sponsored regattas in Portofino, on the Italian Riviera.
Seersucker suits, intarsia bombers, linen overshirts, safari jackets and cosy knitwear dominated the effortless line-up. Each look was paired with buttery soft moccasins, and impeccably styled with accessories such as silk scarves nonchalantly tied at the neck, and roomy tote bags.
Seersucker fabrics, also in a look worn by female model Élise Crombez (left). Photo: Handout
A sunny palette of desert hues and ocean-inspired colours dominated the collection while a series of green looks in the middle of the line-up added a jolt of energy.
The range unsurprisingly stood out for its beautiful materials. Zegna famously began as a fabric mill in the northern Italian town of Trivero and still produces all its textiles in-house – a rarity in the fashion industry – from wool and cashmere for its winter garments to the linen, raw silk, gaberdine and more woven fabrics used in this collection.
Striped knitwear was also part of the line-up. Photo: Handout