Instant Gratification
Designer Stefano Pilati is already making major waves in his new design role at Ermenegildo Zegna, among them his decision to make the company’s 60-year-old womenswear line Agnona a seasonless label. Pilati has listened to the needs of his customers and is already offering for sale the label’s purported spring/ summer 2014 collection—no need to wait. These collections (the first is called Collection Zero) will come out every few months and focus on staple yet directional designs. For the debut collection the designer was inspired by the Hawaiian Islands, so there are some tropical blooms and traditional checkered prints, but everything is done in ultra-luxe fabrics like double-faced cashmeres, raw silk, and crocodile skins. As Zegna produces its many lines in its own factories, the quick turnaround of product doesn’t pose as much of a stumbling block as it will for other brands that try to follow Pilati’s lead. And follow they should, as this “see it now, buy it now” mentality is the future of fashion.
In The Bag
Die-hard fashionistas have discovered the charming Brazilian handbag designer Paula Cademartori. Her colorful Italian-made bags have been seen on the arm of many a fashion world It girl. They are easy to spot with their distinctive clasps, created by Cademartori to represent the symbol for “pi”—a choice that makes more sense once you learn that she earned a degree in industrial design before getting her master’s in fashion accessories and graduating magna cum laude from the Istituto Marangoni. A tangible representation of the designer’s own character, her bags are practical, original, and a perfect blend of girly and graceful.