In the sands of the desert for Zegna's SS26 show A tale of matter, memory and metamorphosis in Dubai

On a journey that combines landscapes, identities, and sensibilities, Zegna presented the SS26 collection yesterday outside of Milan and Italy for the first time, transforming the Dubai Opera into an unprecedented creative stage. For a week, the historic building hosted the VILLA ZEGNA format, a living metaphor of a bridge between seemingly distant worlds: the Oasi Zegna in the Biella mountains and the golden dunes of the Arabian desert. It was here, in this setting suspended between nature and architecture, that Artistic Director Alessandro Sartori orchestrated a fashion-performance that blended fashion, music, and the philosophy of dressing, accompanied live by an evocative musical score curated and performed by James Blake. The SS26 collection embodied a transversal mindset, capable of crossing eras, places, and genres. It was not just about garments, but layered experiences imprinted in the material, telling the story of daily life through worn surfaces and sun-bleached colors. The garments became an external and chosen skin, bearers of personal, intimate, and universal stories. For Sartori, in fact, «fashion is a laboratory where everyday experience shapes the garment itself». An idea that came to life in a collection where each piece was subjected to washing and manipulation treatments, evoking the effect of Dubai's scorching heat: volumes shaped by the body, fabrics faded like memories on the skin.

The show itself was an immersive experience: the sound of James Blake accompanied every step of the models in an emotional crescendo that transformed the runway into a sensory narrative. The stage of the Dubai Opera, covered with installations that evoked dunes and cliffs, told the story of the garments’ journey from the Oasi Zegna to the desert and back. It was a vision that connected cultures, eras, and geographies, placing everyday life at the center as fertile ground for creativity. The silhouette of the SS26 collection was free, fluid, decidedly unconventional. The jackets were as light as shirts, the boxy reinterpretation of the iconic Il Conte coat and the doubled Nehru shirts moved in harmony with tailored shorts, mini blousons, airy pajamas, and leather jackets as light as a summer breeze. The boundaries between outerwear and shirt, suit and casualwear were blurred until they merged, in a play of ambiguity and comfort. The unstructured two-button blazers, anorak shirts, field jackets with low pockets, and printed co-ords spoke of an elegance without impositions. The presence of soft accessories – from loafers worn like slippers to roomy bags and wraparound sunglasses – completed a portrait of contemporary men and women, in harmony with their real lives.

The color palette was a succession of shades that evoked natural landscapes and weathered pigments: oasis white, putty, mountain butter, haze, rope, with more vibrant incursions of oil, cognac, liqueur, fern, cyclamen, anemone, all the way to the intense tones of smoke, washed slate, and Barolo. The textures took center stage: they ranged from technical and refined fabrics like summer Shetland in wool/silk/linen, silk poplin, Sea Island cotton, linen/wool jacquard, to more experimental treatments such as leather with jacquard pattern and sponge made of cotton/paper/wool. Every surface felt alive, ready to tell the story of the one who wore it. «We found inspiration in a simple chair, covered with clothes left there after an intense day», Sartori said. «That image guided us: it was real life, layered and spontaneous. Our task represented half the work: the rest was done by those who lived in those clothes». This vision walked the runway in Dubai, in an environment that was not just a backdrop, but an integral part of the message.