Italian luxury goods group Ermenegildo Zegna Holditalia (Emenia Zegna) sold its women’s ready-to-wear brand Agnona, which specializes in knitwear, but still holds a 30% minority stake in the brand, and the brand’s ownership has not separated from the Zegna family.
The group said in a press release issued in early August: “This transaction represents the A new path for the future development of the brand, guaranteeing the continuity of its operations, as Agnona will remain in the family.” Ermenegildo Zegna Holditalia sold 70% of Agnona shares to Roberto Aimone and Stefano Aimone, the group explained, without providing More transaction details. Roberto Aimone and Stefano Aimone are the husband and sons of Laura Zegna, a third generation member of the Zegna family.
In 1910, Ermenegildo Zegna Holditalia, an Italian manufacturer of luxury men’s clothing, accessories and high-end fabrics, was founded in Trivero by the family founder of the same name, Ermenegildo Zegna. In the 1960s, brothers Aldo Zegna and Angelo Zegna, members of the Zegna family, decided to expand the company’s business from fabric manufacturing to men’s clothing production, thus leading the group’s rise. Laura Zegna is the daughter of Aldo Zegna and the sister of current president Paolo Zegna.
Laura Zegna’s husband Roberto Aimone has been at the helm of the Agnona brand for some time, while her son Stefano Aimone has worked as a designer for a series of different luxury brands, including the group’s previous Young line brand Z Zegna. In 2015, the two founded Aimone, a high-end leather-based menswear brand. Father and son will serve as Agnona’s new executive president and creative director, respectively.
Ermenegildo Zegna Holditalia explained that the brand’s current CEO Alessandra Carra “will continue to support Aimone family until Stefano was able to take on the role of CEO.” Alessandra Carra has led the brand for 6 years. She comes to Agnona from Italian designer brand Emilio Pucci, where she also served as CEO of Polo Ralph Lauren in Italy and other licensing countries, as well as global vice president of marketing, sales and distribution at Valentino, and in Previously held positions at Levi Strauss Group and Trussardi.
The British-American designer Simon Holloway, who has succeeded Stefano Pilati as Agnona’s creative director in 2015, will leave the company to focus on “new career challenges.” Simon Holloway has previously worked at Jimmy Choo, Narciso Rodriguez, Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors and Richard Tyler.
The Agnona brand was founded in 1953 and has been holding fashion shows in Milan since September 2018. Ermenegildo Zegna Holditalia acquired Agnona in 1999 but never really succeeded in reviving the brand. Simon Holloway showed the brand’s menswear for the first time in February this year, which was quite unexpected because Agnona stopped making menswear 20 years ago.
Ermenegildo Zegna Holditalia also acquired American designer brand Thom Browne in 2018. In the same year, it also acquired a controlling stake in leather fabric company Pelle Tessuta and Indian luxury menswear brand Raghavendra Rathore Jodhpur. a minority stake, and a controlling stake in high-end fabric manufacturer Bonotto SpA. </p
