There are few designers coaxing men’s wear to new frontiers quite like Alessandro Sartori. His fall ’21 Ermenegildo Zegna collection, shown last month in Milan, was dubbed “The (Re) Set,” and it merged loungewear, knitwear, and outerwear in a sort of pandemic alchemy: clothes that are terribly comfortable while retaining the spirit of dressing up. Sartori, who has been at Zegna since 2016, has committed himself to sustainability as well as to style. He has implemented a program called “Use the Existing,” which puts upcycled materials to work in new products, and uses organic merino wool sourced from Zegna’s own farm, in Australia. But above all, he aims to design pieces that will be used and treasured for years, and decades, to come. Herewith, he shares his key components to the good life. —Ashley Baker
APP: Artsy.
BEDTIME BOOK: Through a Different Lens: Stanley Kubrick Photographs, by Luc Sante.
BIRTHDAY: My mum’s, celebrated over lunch.
CAR: A midnight-blue 1965 Ford Mustang Fastback.
DRESS: My bespoke cashmere oversize black coat, worn with a black cashmere turtleneck and tailored pants.
DRIVE: From Milan toward Tuscany in my vintage car.
ENEMY: Ignorance.
ESCAPE: Ortigia, Sicily.
FAMILY: The one that re-unites on Christmas Eve.
FRIEND: Mahershala Ali.
HIDEAWAY: I’ll never reveal it.
HOTEL: Borgo Egnazia, in Puglia.
JACKET: My favorite handmade one-and-a-half-breasted dinner jacket.
THEME SONG TO YOUR LIFE:
“This Must Be the Place,” by the Talking Heads.
MATCH: The Wimbledon finals.
MOVIE: Luchino Visconti’s The Stranger.
NOVEL: All Sándor Márai books.
piece of advice: “Our actions today will shape our tomorrow.”
Podcast: Like a New Day, Leica’s podcast about photography
RESTAURANT: Ristorante Cracco, in Milan, which is helmed by the best chef I’ve ever met.
SHOES: A pair of slip-ons in felted wool.
SINGER: Dave Gahan.
TELEVISION SERIES: Fargo.
TIME OF DAY: Late in the evening, when I get home, open a bottle of red Italian wine, and start cooking.
VACATION: A road trip in the American desert, from Marfa to Lake Powell via White Sands and Sedona.
VIEW: The sea from La Scalinatella’s room, in Capri.
WAKE-UP TIME: A few minutes just before sunrise.
WORK OF ART: La Danse, by Henri Matisse.
Alessandro’s Essentials
