A black curtain backdrop and a runway resembling space-dust – there was an otherworldly attitude to the Zegna FW23 show that felt very serene in the midst of the fashion week mayhem. With our minds zen, our focus was fixed on the collection’s luxurious fabrications, treatments and craft.

At the heart of the season was Zegna’s Road to Traceability – the house’s commitment to certifying its fibres as fully traceable by 2024. This ethos is personified by Oasi Cashmere – named after the national park at the foot of the Italian Alps owned by the founder’s family – produced in mills that belong to the brand. The material was at the core of Zegna’s FW23 narrative, and guests were even privy to the process behind making Oasi Cashmere: entering through an installation where cashmere fibres delicately floated and danced in the air – a vital process in their eventual transformation into fine cloth.

Silhouettes expanded the mindset – soft, relaxed and voluminous: raw blazer lines curved around the body, trousers pleated and pooled to the floor, and leathers were cut with a supple, sculptural finesse. Everything was tactile and begging to be touched. No more so than the aforementioned Oasi Cashmere, which was treated to look like wool bouclé, fleece and Casentino wool. Oasi Cashmere made up 70 percent of the collection, while another twenty percent featured cashmere mixed with other fabrics.

“At Zegna I have the unprecedented opportunity to create fabrics from weaving through to finishing, challenging our manufacturers,” said Artistic Director Alessandro Sartori, “pushing them to explore uncharted waters. This allows me to mould our silhouettes right from the matter, making sure that our commitment to innovation and excellence is rooted in every step of the process. The result is an all-encompassing language that is truly progressive’.