Collezione Uno, Stefano Pilati's second collection for Agnona (the first being the ground Zero of his creative directorship), was a more complete offering than his first: more eveningwear, something for the cocktail category, a signature bag, plus the beauteous Dree Hemingway as the face of the label. But Inez and Vinoodh were still responsible for the imagery, and Pilati, although once again physically absent from the presentation, was psychically very present. That's because Dree was such a competent ambassador.
"She's a strong girl with a secret," was her take on the Agnona woman. "And you can hide many secrets in these clothes." What she meant was that Pilati had created luxurious, cocooning volumes in cashmere and alpaca. There were coats you could move into, and damn the mortgage payments. Even when outfits were cinched at the waist, they were generous in volume. And the long dresses were hung with an unhindered high priestessly-ness. There was something very American about them: straightforward and sensual. Pilati wanted to convey the impression of a woman in constant movement, so the leitmotif of the collection was a wave pattern, debossed tone-on-tone on a navy coat, or undulating everywhere in colors he called "dusty brights." The pink and turquoise were particularly striking.
It's a true testament to the vision of the Zegnas that they've given Pilati Agnona to play with. And it is all him. He talked about how he wanted to convey the image of a grande bourgeoise in Inez and Vinoodh's pictures of Dree, but there was a twisted, hard little edge: thigh boots and leather collars, a white cotton shirt edged in zippers. A Belle de Jour for now.
