BY JAY AQUINO

JANUARY 17, 2026

Zegna’s Fall/Winter 2026 collection, A Family Closet, arrived as a manifesto on continuity, memory, and time. Staged inside a transformed ice rink in Milan, the set took the form of an oversized oval wardrobe encircling the runway, its interior lined with personal pieces from the Zegna family archive. Alessandro Sartori’s central assertion was clear: clothes are custodians of memory, passed from father to son, generation to generation, accruing weight precisely because they endure.

Sartori positioned himself as a steward of this lineage. The collection rejected seasonal urgency, favoring lifelong possession and clothing as continuity. Lowered pockets, relaxed shoulders and elongated lines allowed the pieces to move naturally with the body, following its movement rather than shaping it.

IMAGE SOURCE: LUXFERITY

IMAGE SOURCE: LUXFERITY

Olive, grey, navy, creamy earth tones, and sage greens unfolded tonally, grounded and almost geological in their calm. Mustard yellow appeared sparingly, offering measured warmth drawn from Mediterranean light. Patterns were precise: pinstripes lent structure to single and double-breasted suits, houndstooth subtly elongated blazers, and tartan coordinates referenced the archive without tipping into nostalgia.

Fabric remained Zegna’s most fluent expression of authority. Superfine Trofeo wool, cashmere shearling, printed herringbone, and featherweight constructions rendered pieces substantial while remaining nearly imperceptible in wear. Overshirts stripped of pockets existed purely for layering, while versatility was engineered directly into tailoring—three-button blazers capable of shifting between single- and double-breasted wear, deepened necklines softening suiting, and suede field jackets in earthy tones balancing ruggedness with polish.

IMAGE SOURCE: LUXFERITY

Textured tweed single-breasted jackets with contrast collars—mustard-tan against speckled brown-beige bodies—paired with tailored trousers, crystallizing the collection’s direction while preserving house codes. A deep navy belted tuxedo jacket asserted its presence through structure, balancing rigor with ease across the shoulders and torso. Charcoal pinstripe double-breasted suits in soft wool blends, worn over beige striped shirts and cut with relaxed trousers, expressed contemporary elegance, completed by black-framed glasses and a grey tie.

Sartori dismantled rigid codes in favor of intuitive dressing—old with new, formal with casual. Luxury no longer announces itself through novelty but through longevity. Fashion is increasingly defined by accelerated obsolescence; Zegna insisted on inheritance, proposing investment in what endures, accumulates meaning, and carries stories across time.

Discover Zegna Fall/Winter 2026 collection here.