MILAN — “Luxury is about movement, evolution and embracing new perspectives,” according to Gildo Zegna, chairman and chief executive officer of the Ermenegildo Zegna Group.
Reflecting this sense of progression, for the first time in its history Zegna will hold a fashion show outside Italy — choosing a key market for the brand and for the industry at large.
Artistic director Alessandro Sartori will parade the brand’s summer 2026 collection in Dubai on June 11, before and outside the Milan Men’s Fashion Week calendar, which is scheduled for June 20 to 24.
“This is one of the most vibrant and influential luxury markets in the world,” the executive said in an exclusive interview, revealing that the city of Dubai will also be the stage of the next Villa Zegna project.
“This is not just about a fashion show — it’s about reinforcing the strength of Italian craftsmanship on a global stage,” said Zegna, enthusing about the “energy and continuous developments” shaping the city. “If you return every six months, it surprises you with changes.”
Zegna made a point of clarifying that the show in Dubai was decided upon ”in full alignment with Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana. Milan will always be our home, and our partnership with the fashion association remains as strong as ever and we will continue to support Milan Fashion Week, and this is an exception. Today Dubai is the perfect place for us to tell the next chapter of our story and we want to shine the light on a market that is very important for us.”
The show will be part of a weeklong program of curated experiences, designed to engage top clients, friends of the brand, and select members of the international press. Villa Zegna is the brand’s traveling event concept inspired by the original home of founder Ermenegildo Zegna. Its first two chapters were in Shanghai and New York, where it was recreated last September at an Upper East Side town house for a one-week installation.
“It helps us deliver a message, show our world and what is behind the brand,” he said.
Details about the locations of the show and Villa Zegna were not disclosed, but are expected to be indoors, given the period of the year.
Ermenegildo Zegna, chairman and CEO of Ermenegildo Zegna Group, at the group’s headquarters.
Francesca Volpi for Financial Ti
Zegna acknowledged the importance of being supported by a highly qualified partner such as Al Tayer Group in the United Arab Emirates. While present in the region for years before, in 2015 the brand inked a joint venture with the Dubai-based luxury retail company, which “helped us take raise the bar and expand in the region” by directly managing the stores and developing direct relationships with customers.
He touted the “unique positioning” of the Zegna store within the Dubai Mall and the attraction it has. “Each day, 30 different nationalities walk into that store, it’s a fascinating melting pot, any age and population with the most disparate requests,” he enthused. “Dubai is the center of global luxury in terms of transit. It’s an international cultural cradle.”
Asked about the bestselling designs in Dubai, he said purchases are “trans-seasonal, we sell vicuña in August and linen in December. In any case, we work with projects, the Vellus Aureum [made with the finest wool and just presented in Milan last month] lives year-round. Also, we sell products with higher added value in the Middle East.”
Color is also “very important as is lightness,” and customers there are “open to novelty and to test new capsules.”
There is a constant request for Zegna’s signature items in different variations and precious materials, and the Triple Stitch sneakers. “It’s a market that is established in the name of preciousness and exclusivity.”
International VICs will be able to place made-to-order requests for looks from the show, he added.
Alessandro Sartori at Zegna men’s fall 2025 collection at Milan Men’s Fashion Week.
Giovanni Giannoni/WWD
There are six Zegna stores in Dubai, including corners at the local Harvey Nichols and Bloomingdale’s. There is one Zegna store in Abu Dhabi and another will open at the new The Grove development by the end of the year; one unit is in Kuwait, and two are in Turkey. The executive also cited the development of Saudi Arabia, where a store recently opened at the Solitaire Mall in Riyadh, flanking an existing unit in that city.
In 2024, the Europe, Middle East and Africa region reported 3.3 percent growth in the Ermenegildo Zegna Group reaching sales of 680.2 million euros and representing 35 percent of the group’s total revenues.
Last month, commenting on the figures, the CEO said business in the Middle East “is flying” and he has long touted the growth of the area and its potential going forward.
In 2024, the Zegna brand continued to be a key driver for the parent group, which also comprises Thom Browne and Tom Ford Fashion.
In the 12 months ended Dec. 31, revenues rose 2.2 percent to 1.94 billion euros compared with 1.9 billion euros in the same period last year. The performance was lifted by Zegna’s direct-to-consumer channel, which was up 11 percent with double-digit growth in the U.S.
Zegna sales rose 4.9 percent to 1.16 billion euros.
As it is publicly traded in New York, the executive said he could not disclose the amount of the investment in the Dubai show and experience, except to say that it is “important. This will be a unique, very powerful, immersive experience done in a very elevated way.”
