The backdrop—a black-and-white film that tracked vertiginously
through an abandoned industrial site—established a film-noir
tone that made a perfect complement to Alessandro Sartori's new
collection for Z Zegna. In their boxy jackets and pleated,
tapered pants, his men might have peopled Raymond Chandler's
mean streets. Couple that dark, filmic style with Zegna's
futuristic fabric technology and you've got… um… future noir?
Like watching characters of the past in a modern setting," said
Sartori. He pointed to the "icon" of the collection, a leather
jacket in which the skin had been digitally needle-punched to a
cashmere flannel lining. With no need for glue or stitching, the
process loaned a seamless, almost neoprene feel to leather that
will now never grow old. It also guaranteed a silhouette with a
superhero bulk, narrow at the waist, wide at the shoulders.
Everything the modern night crawler would crave.  One remarkable
thing about Zegna's tech is its subtlety. Sartori was excited by
the new three-piece c