Agnona is a lush knit specialist with a long history of producing garments that emanate unshowy poise. And, by his own admission, creative director Simon Holloway tends to start his process by focusing on neutrals.
This season, Holloway was inspired to turn that around after examining the fiercely colored fabrics commissioned by couture houses from Agnona in the 1960s and visiting the Tate’s epic David Hockney exhibition. So, that hand-embroidered cashmere Fair Isle over lilac pants in Look 15 was based on Hockney’s drawing of Ossie Clark, and the bold blue, lemon, pink, and raspberry color palette was lifted, with heartfelt respect, from the artist as well.
In terms of furthering Holloway’s development of Agnona as a sportswear-rooted label for the progressively inclined (but with an unabashed commitment to luxury), the color served him well. The two dresses—a shift and a kimono wrap near the beginning in blue and pink, respectively—were both made in the house “century” cashmere, digitally printed with a soft white shade to add contrast and depth. The closing three-look section of viscose knitted silk column dresses in gradient panels with loosely futuristic complementary knitwear slung above were impactful without compromising on points for poise. The tropical-print pieces—also inspired by the attire of a Hockney subject—were the perhaps the biggest jolt of irreverence, but they translated effectively onto polo shirts with knitted silk trims and matching wide-cut pants. Most of the outerwear featured slashes at the armpit to allow the owner or model to wear the garments with sleeves or without. This sister brand of Zegna rather boldly laid a claim to its brother’s tailoring turf by offering gently oversize blazers in cashmere with off-color decorative stitching and an angle that ran from bottom button to hem, which was rather reminiscent of Alessandro Sartori’s cutaway detailing during his days at Berluti. A mac and a sibling skirt both lacked Hockney’s searing color—Holloway described their tone as “cord”—but were enlivened by inner hems of something shiny and metallic, which lent both a sleek, look-twice gleam.
