This season marked the first time wife-and-husband design duo Nana Aganovich and Brooke Taylor worked with Maison Lesage, the ne plus ultra of embroidery ateliers. They developed a heart—halfway between organ and valentine—encircled by flowers, which was affixed to various garments immediately before the Aganovich show. But rather than suggesting sentimentality, the emblem signified one of several ways the designers chose to interpret the word icon this season. Another, of course, was the impactful scarlet, which straddles iconic associations with the sacred (Catholic cardinals) and the profane (Hollywood red carpets).
Tailoring has always been central at Aganovich, and the designers expended much effort in working through new ways to reconfigure their coats (pretty portrait collars and back flounces), offset angles, and rebalance proportions. The real twist, though, came in the form of draping: What looked to be pleating on a skirt or jacket was, in fact, a series of technical tucks and drapes, often fastened by a hidden snap or two, to ultimately achieve the carved shape of a statue. Thankfully, organza, cotton, and an inky brocade lacked the weight of stone.
Yet, "Who wears Aganovich?" was a question one pondered as each constructed piece impressed more than the last. Tilda Swinton's character from Only Lovers Left Alive would be an eager customer; too bad she's a fictional vampire. Which perhaps explains the Aganovich conundrum: Its century-spanning beauty is impressive, but also consigns it precipitously close to costume, even if the cropped and cuffed "leggings" lift the looks beyond 19th-century dress. It's a risk the designers accept, and that, Aganovich insisted, makes "the pain" worthwhile. You don't achieve icon permanence by aiming for ordinary.
