ZEGNA SS26 turned the Dubai Opera House into Villa Zegna, and served up a collection that felt less trend-driven, more soulful.
The runway show, backed by a live performance curated by none other than James Blake, wasn’t just about clothes. It was about legacy. About Ermenegildo Zegna’s century-old vision of Oasi Zegna, not just as a place, but as a way of life. Fast-forward 115 years and Artistic Director Alessandro Sartori continues that vision, only this time, he’s letting the desert sun do the storytelling.
With jackets so soft they could pass for shirts, leather that moves like silk, and pieces that feel worn, lived in, and loved, but never worn out. This is quiet luxury the ZEGNA way: grounded, tactile, and effortlessly refined. Some jackets are tied at the waist, some models go barefoot. There’s a stillness to the confidence, a kind of nonchalance that doesn’t need to shout. It’s raw. It’s romantic. And it’s unmistakably Italian.
Sartori puts it beautifully: “We came across an image that felt illuminating, and that perfectly summed up my intentions. It depicts a chair, upon which items of clothing are piled up after being taken off, probably, ready to be picked up the day after. The stratigraphy and the casualness suggest a life lived intensely, which is what we are after. As designers, we do half of the work: the rest happens when clients interpret pieces day by day.”
With a model lineup that spans generations (we love!); mature men and women wearing the collection with quiet confidence. ZEGNA proves that elegance has no age limit. The pieces, from washed silks and crinkled linens to soft tailoring and breezy Nehru shirts, move like they’ve always belonged on you. The palette? Creamy whites, dusty olives, and warm sun-faded tones that feel like a moodboard caught between alpine air and desert dusk.
From mountain trails to desert sand, ZEGNA SS26 offers a wardrobe for people who value ease, craft, and quiet confidence.