Ermenegildo Zegna sells Agnona, bids farewell to Simon Holloway

The Italian manufacturer and retailer of luxury menswear has sold Agnona, its women's ready-to-

wear brand specialised in knitwear. Agnona was founded in 1953 and has been controlled by the Zegnas since 1999.

However, the transaction ensures continuity for the women’s fashion brand. The Ermenegildo

Zegna board has approved the sale of the majority of Agnona Srl to the Aimone family, another

branch of the Zegna family.

Ermenegildo Zegna Holditalia sold 70% of the label to Roberto and Stefano Aimone, who are the

husband and son, respectively, of Laura Zegna, who will represent the third generation of the

family to lead the company. This is a return to the brand for Roberto Aimone, who was chief

executive officer of Agnona years ago.

The deal, which represents a new path for the brand's future development, guarantees the

continuity of its operations, as Agnona is staying in the family, said the Piedmontese group in a

release published at the start of August.

The brand's current CEO Alessandra Carra, who joined six years ago, will support the Aimone

family until Stefano also assumes the role of CEO," explained Ermenegildo Zegna.

Carra hailed from Emilio Pucci and prior to that, she was ceo of Polo Ralph Lauren Italy and

countries under license. Previously, she was vice president of marketing, sales and distribution

worldwide at Valentino and held positions at Levi Strauss Group and Trussardi.

Simon Holloway, the Anglo-American designer, who has held the role of creative director at the

brand since 2015, is leaving the company to focus on new professional challenges. The British

designer had joined the company from Hogan after a two-year agreement. Before Hogan,

Holloway worked for Jimmy Choo, Narciso Rodriguez, Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors and Richard

Tyler. His first collection for Agnona bowed for fall 2016, succeeding Stefano Pilati. Holloway

developed the Agnona collections by leveraging the brand’s tradition of luxurious fabrics and

refined elegance.

By Natalie Reppas