Festivities aside, what really got the crowd buzzing was the runway show that included the latest autumn-winter collection from the under-the-radar brand, Z Zegna. Models took to the catwalk in lean and mean suits featuring jackets deconstructed and re-engineered to expose bound raw-edged seams and long trousers gathered at the ankles. Padded jackets were compact, flat and light, while striped wool transformed seamlessly into checks on a belted coat and another featured leather trims.

'I call it techno tailoring - it's something which is a projection of past into future,' says Alessandro Sartori, creative director of Z Zegna and the man behind Adrien Brody's classic Oscar outfit ('It was my proudest moment,' he says later).

'I wanted to bring out the beautiful tailoring and construction but with a modernist approach. The stitches are different, the weight of the fabrics are different. In the past, jacket construction was heavy - now classic sewing has been replaced with raw seams and inside is unlined. A jersey suit features stretch panelling, so it's movable. It's futuristic tailoring for a new generation that likes beautiful tailoring with a modern look.'

It may sound light years away from a house whose heritage is rooted in fabric mills and couture-finish, made-to-measure suits, but Sartori takes his mission seriously.

It's a few hours before the show and he remains cool even as he rushes between fittings, rehearsals and interviews. He looks like the man he proposes to dress - young and fashion forward - in his black plastic spectacle frames, slim double-breasted jacket, rolled-up trousers and two-tone saddle shoes (sans socks, naturally).

Says Sartori: 'People get confused but it's important to understand that we are a brand in our own right - not a diffusion line. The difference is that we have a different customer to Ermenegildo Zegna although the roots are the same. We want to look and work for a customer who is very stylish, modern and who takes care of himself. Yes, we concentrate on fashion, but we also keep the genetics of the brand such as the fabrics. It's so exciting to work for a brand that also produces fabrics because anything is possible.'

An obsession with fabrics spurred Sartori to take up fashion design as a career, although his mother, who was a tailor, was also one of his greatest influences.

'I've always wanted to do something related to fashion since I was a child. When I was six or seven, my Mum would do fittings at home and I would come inside all the time and she would send me away because the women were undressed,' he says with a laugh.

'But she prepared me for this experience and I knew I wanted to do something similar. I was always watching her work with fabrics and patterns. When you are a proper tailor, you focus on made-to-measure and work around construction, patterns and specifications. It was training for me.'

During high school in Milan he opted to study textiles, and then enrolled in design school to learn the foundations of fashion design. During this time, he predominantly studied womenswear, but fell into menswear when he was plucked fresh out of college for a role as fabric designer for Ermenegildo Zegna in 1986.

'Menswear was kind of easy and also it chose me, I got a chance to do it. If I was offered a position in womenswear I probably would have taken it. Life would be much different,' he says.

After two years he got the opportunity to move to Hong Kong ('the city was crazy and fun - there's nowhere quite like it,' he says) where he worked as a designer for a sportswear company, creating unique pieces for department store private labels such as Barneys. While it was 'challenging and cool', he was lured back to Europe with the design role he had been waiting for at Ermenegildo Zegna.

'It was different by this time because Zegna were now a fashion brand. I wanted to stay in one job and see what I could do and how far I could go. I already had my foundation, and my background as a fabric designer was ideal because I could speak to the technician about fabrics,' he says.

While he spent the next few years working on product development, his big break came in 2003 when he was offered the role of creative director at Z Zegna, a new brand that catered to the high-fashion end of the menswear market. It was also the first of the house's brands to have a creative director (the other lines are designed by teams).

'One common point between us and other Zegna brands was quality, but for everything else it was different. We have a tailoring attitude even for fashion, but for a more modern customer who wants a cool design. We use different techniques, special fabric, panelling inside on the outside, mixing casual and formal together to create new garments,' Sartori says.

Over the years he developed a signature style for the label, his so-called techno tailoring and signature items such as panelled coats, leather cut by hand and printed wool jackets. Rich, raw materials feature heavily and include alpaca, kangaroo leather and pure silk. Quantities are limited to maintain the label's exclusivity and, like most creative directors, Sartori also looks after store design and brand image.

'It's difficult to understand something unless you are involved in every aspect of the design. The line embodies the look that I like, that is very much part of me. It's difficult to separate me from the collection.'

Luckily for Sartori, his style is striking a chord with men everywhere, including those in Hong Kong and the mainland, where the group plans to open 17 stores by next year. While Z Zegna has yet to launch stand-alone stores, each of its new global flagships, including the one in Hong Kong, will have designated Z Zegna entrances.

'China is incredible and this is a market that we want to focus on,' he says. 'There is so much desire for what we do here in Asia, and we want to keep going. The fashion guy is skinny around the world, so we do not worry about whether it will fit a Chinese or Italian body. Z Zegna is for a specific man and that man is everywhere in every country.'

However, as with all fashion-centric brands there are risks, especially since the recession has made customers question what they can afford. Coupled with this is the emergence of the casual movement that is taking over formal menswear. Sartori, however, remains unfazed.

'That is just a point of view. We belong to the man who always wants to be cool - that's what he wants. Today, yes, sporty is in, but tomorrow it can be something else, but this is our philosophy and it's very specific.

'Of course, things have changed [since the recession], but there is an evolution inside menswear that is much stronger. Men are buying pieces with a more human approach - it's now about a man's personality and that influences his choices.

'Ten years ago men's brands proposed the same look because there was no desire for anything different - now those same brands propose something new and different each season.

'This will be much stronger in the future where each brand and customer will work around individual style and personality. This is where I see fashion heading and we want to be part of it.'

He's got the looks

Alessandro Sartori's favourite looks from the Z Zegna autumn-winter collection:

Look 1 (left) - techno tailoring suit in denim with bounded edges

Look 2 - techno tailoring jersey suit with stretch panels

Look 42 - top coat made using different panels of fabric

Look 44 (right) - double-breasted jacket in denim and checks

Sartori's top five items every man should own:

Cardigan

Tailored shirt

Double breasted jacket

Fitted trousers

Handmade shoes