Five new styling tricks to try from Zegna’s spring/summer 2026 show
The Milanese menswear megalith decamped to Dubai to present its new collection. These are the sartorial lessons we learned
OVER THE WEEKEND, Milanese tailoring megalith Zegna unveiled its spring/summer 2026 collection in the Opera House of Dubai, which had been transformed into a tree-lined oasis for the occasion.
The soundtrack was curated by British artist James Blake and the front row bulb pops were reserved for Mads Mikkelsen, who was wearing one of the linen stand collar jackets with which Zegna has recently had much success.
The collection, by long-serving creative director Alessandro Sartori, was an ode to elevated understatement. Many of the models went barefoot or slipped down the runway in worn mule loafers; while oversized shirts, roomy bombers and crinkled blazers were expertly layered.
The result was a look that was both easy and luxurious – the man Sartori conjured was a fortunate nomad, dressed for an evening beneath the desert sky.
“While researching [the collection], we came across an image that felt illuminating, and that perfectly summed up my intentions.” Said Sartori. “It depicts a chair, upon which items of clothing are piled up after being taken off, probably, ready to be picked up the day after. The casualness suggests a life lived intensely. Which is what we are after.”
Here are five new styling tricks we picked up from the show, which you can easily try this summer.
1. Forget the steamer, ditch the iron
Falling in step with Prada, Dries Van Noten and Bottega Veneta, Sartori sent out a series of suits crafted from ultra-crinkled fabric. The effect was easy and cool. The suits were beautifully cut, naturally, but the artful wrinkles running through them imbued the models with a devil-may-care attitude.
2. Clash your plaids
Plaid is big for spring/summer 2025. The best way to wear the fabric – according to Sartori – is to clash plaids in similar shades, but differing proportions. Think a large check plaid overshirt with a pair of Madras shorts. Chic.
3. Centre your look around a roomy overshirt
Structured, oversized outer shirts were a keny tenet of Sartori’s SS’ 26 collection for Zegna. Worn over breezy shirts and teamed with shorts, they perfectly encapsulated the easy mood (and matched the 40ºC temperatures outside). When picking your own overshirt, go at least two sizes up to achieve the desired effect.
4. A Stand Collar Jacket is an investment
Stand collar jackets – also known as Nehru and Mandarin jackets – constitute a significant portion of Zegna’s offering for both the current season and Spring Sumer ‘26. Best worn a little close, opt for something with a relatively ample stand collar to avoid looking like a Tory backbencher at Glyndebourne (unless that’s the look you’re going for, of course).
5. Mules are going nowhere
Sartori sent his models out either barefoot, or wearing worn-in loafer mules. Redolent of the Jordaan backless loafers shown by Alessandro Michele in his first collection for Gucci, the ease of the style looked perfect for a long hot summer of stopping straight from beach, to bar, and back again.
A version of this story originally appeared on Esquire UK.
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