ZEGNA’s FW25 collection was all about its grass roots - and we mean its actual grass roots as a brand that uses high quality Italian wool to create its collection. Opening to the sounds of sheep bleating and visuals of ram horns protected onto giant screens, ZEGNA’s FW25 collection was all about the material it was founded on: wool.
You probably know ZEGNA for its roster of celebrity clients - this season the brand had Mads Mikkelsen, Fei Xiang, Giancarlo Esposito on the FROW - but what you might not know is ZEGNA’s founder’s always had a respect for wool. As it broke down in its show notes, “In 1963, Ermenegildo Zegna, the Founder, established the Wool Trophy Awards in Australia to support woolgrowers in their pursuit of the finest wool in the world.” That’s the same wool we see on the runway at ZEGNA’s shows today.
The FW25 collection itself is titled “Vellus Aureum,” which is in reference to “the Vellus Aureum world record for a single wool fleece [which] was reached in 2023 with a fineness of 9.4 microns.” That’s what this collection was inspired by, and when you look at the quality of the fits on ZEGNA’s runway, it shows.
The showspace also referenced the grass roots of the brand, given that the show was set on a bed of actual grass. Referencing the lands where ZEGNA’s wool starts - on the back of a sheep - models walked out into the field in fits that also took root in wool.
Staying on theme, knitwear was the main character of the collection, seen in V-neck jumpers and chunky pullovers paired with deconstructed blazers and loose fitting shirts. A key trait of ZEGNA’s FW25 man was nonchalance: as Artistic Director Alessandro Sartori said “in this collection items are … spontaneously mixed … in the name of Italian style.”
After the show, models were left standing around the manmade field where the audience was then allowed to explore. Getting up out of our seats, we were able to walk right up to the models and see their fits up close. That alone says a lot about ZEGNA’s commitment to quality — it's not often that a brand lets you come up and scrutinise its collection up close, still on the models’ backs.
Featured image via ZEGNA©
More on Culted
See: Dhruv Kapoor on his FW25 collection, ‘70s India and balancing his chakras
