Stefano Pilati is back! For his return to the runway at Ermenegildo Zegna the designer was letting loose creatively. Everything from the extensive, bold colour palette, made up of thirty-three different hues, to the complex, multifaceted presentation - which combined music, fashion and film - suggested a new dynamism and thrust for the designer.
Pilati stressed this energy in his show notes, commenting that the undertone for this first collection at Zegna was 'an interactive spirit'. It's a telling approach for a designer who seemed to be feeling boxed in by the time of his final collections at Yves Saint Laurent. Well boxed in he certainly wasn't at Zegna, despite the houses' tailoring focus and clear sense of brand identity. Pilati had instead used this narrow framework as a creative spring board, combining the strength of Zegna's traditional craftsmanship with his own vision for a modern man. Fluidity and movement were central to this, hence the suit jackets thrown on over mismatched trousers or shorts, and the t-shirt cuffs, haphazardly rolled up over jacket sleeves. Pilati's Zegna man was going places - apt given the designer himself has a new spring in his step.
