Installed for less than a year, Paul Surridge's second collection for Z Zegna was one of the strongest at the recent Milan Fashion Week, writes Mitchell Oakley Smith.
There
has been so much defection and departure and denial within the upper echelons
of the European fashion industry in the past twelve months that, for the
average punter, it’s tricky to figure out who did what, who went where and, perhaps
most importantly, who designed the shirt on your back. As it happens, most of
the change that has uprooted France and Italy’s leading established houses has
been born out of designers’ struggle to meet the demands imposed by their employer,
which makes sense: these houses produce upwards of eight collections per year,
often twelve, including men’s wear, women’s wear, resort, pre-collections,
couture and accessories, and then there’s the creative campaigns and in-store
appearances and press responsibilities.
And yet for all the brouhaha that has encompassed women’s wear, a British gentleman, Paul Surridge, has been solidly toiling away for the past year as the creative director of Z Zegna, the fashion-forward line of 1910-established Italian men’s wear tailoring house Ermenegildo Zegna. “It has been intense,” admits Mr Surridge when we meet the day following the Z Zegna presentation, his second, at the recent spring/ summer men’s wear collections in Milan, Italy. “It is a company that has a definite rhythm. When you’re coming from another company it always takes time to adjust.” In print, the designer’s opening words sound somewhat negative, which isn’t at all a reflection of his mindset. In fact, he’s thrilled to have wound up as the creative head of Z Zegna but is keenly aware of the reputation Alessandro Sartori built during his eight years with the brand, its first creative director, and wants to earn his own stripes. “A rich foundation was left for me,” he continues, “and I don’t want to be disrespectful by erasing that. It would be different if the last director was let go, but because it was a personal decision to leave, you have big shoes to fill.”
And yet for all the brouhaha that has encompassed women’s wear, a British gentleman, Paul Surridge, has been solidly toiling away for the past year as the creative director of Z Zegna, the fashion-forward line of 1910-established Italian men’s wear tailoring house Ermenegildo Zegna. “It has been intense,” admits Mr Surridge when we meet the day following the Z Zegna presentation, his second, at the recent spring/ summer men’s wear collections in Milan, Italy. “It is a company that has a definite rhythm. When you’re coming from another company it always takes time to adjust.” In print, the designer’s opening words sound somewhat negative, which isn’t at all a reflection of his mindset. In fact, he’s thrilled to have wound up as the creative head of Z Zegna but is keenly aware of the reputation Alessandro Sartori built during his eight years with the brand, its first creative director, and wants to earn his own stripes. “A rich foundation was left for me,” he continues, “and I don’t want to be disrespectful by erasing that. It would be different if the last director was let go, but because it was a personal decision to leave, you have big shoes to fill.”
He is, of course, referring to the amicable departure of Mr Sartori, who left
the company in May, 2011 to take the newly-created role of artistic director at
the LVMH-owned Berluti, where he unveiled the brand’s inaugural ready to-wear
collection in January this year, complementing its existing range of shoes, in
another reinvention and expansion of legacy-based brands by the group. But
unlike Berluti, Ermenegildo Zegna remains privately owned by three fourth-generation
Zegnas – siblings Anne, Gildo and Paolo – but with 557 standalone stores
globally, it is by no means a small fry in the apparel world. “I didn’t realise
just how much work there is to be done in such a big organisation,” concedes Mr
Surridge, “but the tailors' expertise is incredible. Zegna has a lot of
resources and as I push the boundaries I learn more and more.”
It’s just as well, given Mr Surridge doesn’t come from a tailoring background. In fact, before working at Zegna he’d never really worked in suiting at all, his most recent role being head designer of men's wear at Jil Sander, reporting to Raf Simons, and, prior to this, held stints in the men's wear teams at Burberry and ck Calvin Klein. Of course, Z Zegna is the company’s directional fashion line, not its commercial suiting core, and granted, the designer certainly worked his way around a blazer at those other fashion houses, but the announcement of his succession to the Z Zegna throne came as a surprise to those in men's wear circles, particularly given the commercial and critical success of Mr Sartori’s latest collection. After all, his last name translates to tailors in Italian. Mr Surridge recognises the challenge. “Zegna possesses a real excellence in fabrics and manufacturing and tailoring, whereas my responsibilities have always been geared towards leisure and sportswear. I really had to understand tailoring to take this on.”
It’s just as well, given Mr Surridge doesn’t come from a tailoring background. In fact, before working at Zegna he’d never really worked in suiting at all, his most recent role being head designer of men's wear at Jil Sander, reporting to Raf Simons, and, prior to this, held stints in the men's wear teams at Burberry and ck Calvin Klein. Of course, Z Zegna is the company’s directional fashion line, not its commercial suiting core, and granted, the designer certainly worked his way around a blazer at those other fashion houses, but the announcement of his succession to the Z Zegna throne came as a surprise to those in men's wear circles, particularly given the commercial and critical success of Mr Sartori’s latest collection. After all, his last name translates to tailors in Italian. Mr Surridge recognises the challenge. “Zegna possesses a real excellence in fabrics and manufacturing and tailoring, whereas my responsibilities have always been geared towards leisure and sportswear. I really had to understand tailoring to take this on.”
But
all that said, Ermenegildo Zegna should be commended for a leftof- centre
choice, hiring a relatively unknown designer, which is rare in the
celebrity-driven nature of the industry, and as it turns out, it seems Mr
Surridge might well be just the man to continue Z Zegna’s growth and
development. His second collection for the brand, shown on these pages, was
perhaps the finest at Milan Fashion Week this season, subtle in its appeal, and
gave greater voice to the first collection he unveiled earlier in January.
British-born
and trained at Central Saint Martin’s College of Art, 38-year old Mr Surridge
cuts a handsome figure with dark hair, slightly greying at the sides, and a few
days growth on his cheeks and chin. For his title and success, he’s
surprisingly affable, with an accent that lilts between British, Italian and
American. He’s keen for a chat – we’re allotted an hour for this interview,
though he seems the type to be as helpful to a journalist as possible – but is
aware of what is required of him, in this instance: to talk about Z Zegna. I
provide this background not to praise him for the purpose of the story, but
instead to outline the ability with which he has taken the reins handed to him.
This is the designer’s first role where he’s had to talk to the press, to be a
face, so to speak, and while it’s not criminal investigation, answering the
questions of an interviewer with no less than three public relations managers
within earshot can be confronting, and yet within less than a year, Mr Surridge
is as comfortable and confident in his words and self as was Mr Sartori, which
suggests that he’s not only the right fit for Z Zegna, but that he is happy,
too.
The Z Zegna collection presented in Milan in late June was something of a
surprise. Of course, the line has always been the fashion offering from the
tailoring house, but in the past the latter has always been more prevalent than
the former, perhaps due to the line's relative youth.. Yet following his fall
debut, where suiting formed a core that was influenced by modern sportsand tech-wear,
Mr Surridge took the line into previously unexplored territory, one where the
suit, while present, served to communicate his ideas for the season, rather
than the other way around.
“It was supposed to be fun and non-conforming,” explains Mr Surridge of the new
direction. “I wanted a level of colour that kept it cheerful in tone but that
it would also be relaxed in line.” That line was, indeed, rather relaxed, the
collection notes discussing notions of the Z Zegna man “leaving aside the
rigidity of working life and letting a playful, carefree and at times nostalgic
spirit emerge.” Here, shoulders are unstructured, the upper silhouette breaks
free of the slim-fitting style it had been corralled in for so many seasons,
adopting a more oversized, boxy shape, and the overall construction of the
outerwear shares more commonalities with shirting than traditional suiting with
its high cut, four-buttons and elbow-length sleeves. There is a feeling of
classic military uniform, but not in a referential or overtly obvious sense.
The high-waisted trousers and chinos with bow pleating and French seams do much
to counteract anything too obvious or done-before. “I wanted to create a wardrobe
that has continuity and can evolve,” he explains. “We’re working on making Z
Zegna more accessible, not to damage the business, but to open it up. We have
to keep moving forward and make it fun.”
Yet
most interesting was not necessarily Mr Surridge’s crafting of a new silhouette
for Z Zegna but rather the colour palette with which he presented it, with
tones – avocado, coral, lemon and taupe – inspired by the work of installation
artist Dan Flavin, known for his site-specific fluorescent light fixtures. “He’s
always been an inspiration to me and is as modern today as he was in the
sixties,” says Mr Surridge. “It’s these moments of great creativity that have
occurred in the past that we need to hold on to.” In combination, the solarised
brights in micro jacquards have a futuristic sense to them – of David Bowie
meets Dune – that seems entirely modern. “I’m not a fan of cookie-cutting,”
says the designer. “We are not all doing the same thing, we don’t all live or
dress the same, and so we need different clothing options as a result.”
Brandon Lund/EMG Models | Photographic Assistance Glenn Pokorny & Robin Hearfield
Post Production Kisma/Green Room Sessions | Hair Colour Helen Chilton Taylor, Prema Salon