Simon Holloway was on a buying trip when he found an old photo of Halston on the roof of the Agnona mill. “They were all wearing these great taupe suits,” said the designer admiringly (wearing a camel cashmere blazer, himself).
That photo was taken in the 1970s, around the same time the brand graduated from simply functioning as a supplier of knitted fabrics to producing clothing under its own line. So Holloway looked back at those early collections—a lot of brown, a lot of taupe, a lot of innovation, and a lot of hope—and thought about updating the sporty-sensual-sophisticated, American-flavored luxury freshness Halston once telegraphed, but from a European, 21st-century point of view.
And, hey, it worked! With the exception (to this eye) of statement furs that were too screamingly volumized and heeled boots whose height undermined the ease of the pieces above, this collection brimmed with highly want-able wearables. The opening A-line skirt and round-shouldered trucker jacket in a cashmere denim mix signaled Holloway’s intent to broaden his parameter. A long leather piped overcoat in alpaca came served in rust and camel check, drawn from Agnona’s first collection back in the day. Particularly fine was a leather-shouldered tunic whose body was a panel of orange-on-navy weave by a factory Ermenegildo Zegna only recently acquired a majority share in. These were worn above straight-cut cashmere jeans and the cool vulcanised shearling sneakers that were this collection’s footwear highlight.
Alessandro Sartori is the artistic director of Ermenegildo Zegna, but his purview does not extend to Agnona. It was interesting how two camel looks—one a double-layered cashmere blazer over a V-neck, the other a slightly darker (edge of khaki) purl knit, loose gilet worn with an over-long-sleeved sweater (both looks were worn with cashmere harem pants)—subtly mirrored one of this menswear fan’s highlight outfits from Sartori’s debut show in January (look 18). From Agnona to Zegna this is a house in fine creative fettle right now.
