Fashion Show

Z Zegna Spring Summer 2014 collection: a Vogue Experience with Paul Surridge

My short trip to Milan for the last day of men’s fashion week, ended with the Vogue Experience at the Ermenegildo Zegna headquarters, where the editor in chief of Italian Vogue, Franca Sozzani, gave the opportunity to discover the Z Zegna Spring Summer 2014 collection and meet the designer Paul Surridge.
 
 
Vogue Experience - Z Zegna SS 2014 backstage - Franca Sozzani, Paul Surridge
Vogue Experience – Z Zegna SS 2014 backstage – Franca Sozzani, Paul Surridge

 

 

Gildo Zegna (CEO of Ermenegildo Zegna) and Gianluca Cantaro (Managing editor of L’Uomo Vogue) welcomed the guests at the ground floor of the Zegna headquarters in the huge room where the sale campaigns are carried out and which becomes the theater of Zegna’s fashion shows for just four days a year. After a brief digression on the history and the future plans of the brand, we went in the backstage, where Franca Sozzani and Paul Surridge were waiting for us to talk about the collection.
 
 
Vogue Experience - Ermenegildo Zegna headquarter in Milan
Vogue Experience – Ermenegildo Zegna headquarter in Milan
Vogue Experience – Ermenegildo Zegna headquarter in Milan
Vogue Experience - Z Zegna - Paul Surridge, Gianluca Cantaro
Vogue Experience – Z Zegna – Paul Surridge, Gianluca Cantaro
Vogue Experience - Z Zegna - Franca Sozzani, Paul Surridge, Gildo Zegna
Vogue Experience – Z Zegna – Franca Sozzani, Paul Surridge, Gildo Zegna
 
 
The British designer Paul Surridge is at his 4th collection as creative director of Z Zegna, the Ermenegildo Zegna second line launched in 2005 and designed for young customers (25/40 yo) who like to play with men’s contemporary styles, but respecting the Zegna heritage. Despite his young age (almost 40), Paul Surridge has a great fashion background with experiences in the most important style offices which have deeply marked his creative identity. In the Z Zegna SS 2014 collection, he had a minimalistic and graphic approach clearly inherited from Jil Sander, and while he was showing us the 10 key looks of the collection, he quoted several times a phrase learned during his first assignment at Prada: “Every collection has to be different and unexpected”. It is no coincidence that he is the creative director of a experimental style line.
 
 
Vogue Experience - Z Zegna SS 2014 backstage Vogue Experience - Z Zegna SS 2014 backstage Vogue Experience - Z Zegna SS 2014 backstage 
Vogue Experience - Z Zegna SS 2014 backstage - Paul Surridge 
Vogue Experience - Z Zegna SS 2014 backstage Vogue Experience - Z Zegna SS 2014 backstage Vogue Experience - Z Zegna SS 2014 backstage 
Vogue Experience - Z Zegna SS 2014 backstage
 
 
The collection reveals an eclectic formal research: there are references to the Japanese costumes with kimono-like shirts tight at the waist with obi-inspired maxi elastic bands, worn under satin shawl-collar tuxedo jackets from the 70s, contrasting with the pajamas suits and the oversized minimal items. Then there are the seasonal-trend-friendly-items such as the short suits (formal suits with short pants); the 90s jeans jackets, updated with tailoring fabrics; and finally the pale shades of pink, yellow and blue matched with the black, classic navy blue and blue-green of the suits. Finally, a tribute to the textile heritage of the company with the very fine high-tech fabrics made unique by the three-dimensional wavy texture looking like micropatterns, which embellish even the most casual items.
 
 
Z Zegna SS 2014Z Zegna SS 2014
Z Zegna SS 2014Z Zegna SS 2014
Z Zegna SS 2014Z Zegna SS 2014
Z Zegna SS 2014Z Zegna SS 2014
Z Zegna SS 2014Z Zegna SS 2014
Vogue Experience - Z Zegna SS 2014 backstage - pale colors 
Vogue Experience - Z Zegna SS 2014 backstage - pale colors 
Paul Surridge talking about the importance of affordable and versatile accessories
Paul Surridge talking about the importance of affordable and versatile accessories for young customers
L'Uomo Vogue copy signed by Franca Sozzani and Paul Surridge
My L’Uomo Vogue copy signed by Franca Sozzani and Paul Surridge
 
 
I’m sure I will remember for a long time all the passion Paul Surridge put in his words while he showed every piece of the Z Zegna SS2014 collection, not leaving out any details, just as if he was in front of the most dreaded journalists. My Vogue Experience couldn’t be more exciting!
 
Alessandro Masetti – The Fashion Commentator
Photo credits: catwalk images vogue.it

Italian architect into fashion. Art curator in love with books, flea markets and interior design.

32 Comments on “Z Zegna Spring Summer 2014 collection: a Vogue Experience with Paul Surridge

  1. tu lo sai che io ti invidio moltissimo, si?

    come sai anche che mi piacerebbe girare lo sguardo per la strada ed incrociare anche solo per sbaglio un paio di uomini vestiti in modo così sofisticato / easy?

    anni luce distanti, almeno per ora, purtroppo!

  2. Penso che avere l’opportunità di sentir parlare uno stilista della propria collezione sia un’occasione unica e preziosa. Se poi lo stilista spiega dettagliatamente anche le scelte e le motivazioni che l’hanno portato a disegnare un capo e in un certo modo, allora è un tesoro inestimabile.
    Tanto di cappello al Direttore Sozzani che propone “vogue experience” sempre interessanti, complete e ricche.
    Quanto alla collezione, da quel che vedo e leggo nel tuo testo, questo stile minimale, morbido e fluido, dalle linee semplici che celano una ricerca meticolosa per quanto riguarda tessuti, tagli e anche ispirazioni, è quanto di meglio si possa chiedere. Uno stile relaxed che adotterei volentieri in versione femminile (la giacca smoking anche subito!)

    Non mi resta che mangiarmi le mani e stare più attenta la prossima volta 😉

    Greta ♡ In Moda Veritas

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