For the Agnona Fall Winter collection, Simon Holloway, looked to the elegance and minimalism of the mid 90s.
‘I saw a work by artist Jordan Wolfson at Frieze last October, that depicted John F. Kennedy Jr and Caroline Bessette-Kennedy. The piece reminded me of the complete and utter elegance of that era. Caroline had such rigorous taste. To the casual observer it was polished uptown style, but in fact her clothes were meticulously chosen and of cutting edge design’
The Agnona wardrobe for HER is very luxurious and features wonderfully refined details in every piece.
Camel is styled with denim, as seen in a double-face camel hair peacoat, with a shearling panel and trimmed in suede, worn over rounded shaped wool denim trousers.
A trench coat, in pale double cotton gabardine, has grainy cognac leather cape details, utterly luxurious, in its assymetry.
An inky indigo strapless dress is leather in the front and knitted at the back, is sleek and sensual.
The ‘apparently strict’ black wool and silk saia jacket, with a knit peplum on the inside, knit sleeves and a little knit shawl collar, so it’s softer in reality.
Sustainability is a responsible choice for Agnona. Simon has used undyed fibres, as in the natural shades of the cashmere goats hair cut in double face coats or knitted in a dress with bias ribs with a finer sleeve and camel hair for some of the pieces, and recycled cashmere for the aran-style sweaters.
He has introduced some couture-like patterns sourced from the extensive Agnona fabric archive, the wool and cashmere jersey suits, in exaggerated houndstooth, or herringbone have a gilet layered on the top that accentuates the hourglass silhouette.
Couture references are in the fabrics too, either knitted or woven. A hand loomed charcoal tweed is used for the long jacket trimmed in braided leather, and for a shorter jacket in indigo and black; the cashmere tweed yarn, woven into Agnona platino jersey, is used for a charcoal scarf jacket and matching trousers; and wool cashmere felted jersey is seen often throughout.
Black, charcoal, cream and buff are the main colours of the collection. Together with the natural tones of camel hair and natural cashmere, in lighter and darker browns, and the different hues of indigo denim.
The Agnona wardrobe for HIM is the equal to hers: a collection crafted in exclusive noble fiber fabrics and yarns with a modernist sensibility.
Simon has reintroduced menswear after 20 years. The inspiration is a rugged take on an Ivy League moment, almost like a European ideal of the American preppy: the chunky cable knitwear is tucked into the trousers, paired up with cashmere cabled socks and loafers; a belted double breasted cashmere coat is worn with a matching turtleneck underneath; the wool cashmere flannel shirts are in check patterns, chic variations of buffalo plaid. Some have leather details as elbow and pocket patches.