AGNONA FACTORY LATE 1950’S
Francesco is, as they say, a wunderkind. He begins working at the local Sesia Valley textile company and becomes the chief designer in the blink of an eye. Modest in his manner, tireless in his dedication, and full of disruptive ideas, he earns a reputation as a creative visionary. But he is also driven by the strong desire to start his own mill, to reach new standards of excellence, and to pursue unprecedented tactile and visual sensations by emulating the art of nature.
Thanks to his freethinking and fervent imagination, he comes to the attention of two great industrialists of the region, who decide to support his vision. Lanerie Agnona is born in 1953; the name is a tribute to the small town in the Sesia Valley at the foot of Monte Rosa for which Francesco has a spiritual attachment. The creative is now an entrepreneur: thanks to the generous patronage of and solidarity between textile pioneers, his dream is now a reality.
He believes in the sublimity of Mother Nature, which never betrays. First observing and then running his fingers through the animals’ fleece, Francesco has been fascinated by this tactile perfection from a young age. So much so, that he wants to emulate and reproduce it in his fabrics. It is in search of this excellence that he travels the world as a modern-day Marco Polo. And by visiting its hidden corners, from Tasmania to Peru, and from Mongolia to China, he sources the finest natural fibers, including vicuna, cashmere, and alpaca. He brings them to his mill in Agnona and creates the most innovative and exquisite textiles.
Francesco and his suitcase, overflowing with fabrics, are one. Wrapped in his iconic white alpaca coat, which he wears all year round, the alchemist of fabrics arrives in Paris—a city that is difficult for many but not for him. With his affable character, he enters every exclusive salon and soon becomes a close friend and supplier to the greatest couturiers, including Christian Dior, Cristóbal Balenciaga, Pierre Balmain, and Yves Saint Laurent.
AGNONA HISTORICAL ARCHIVAL IMAGES
the trademark Hermès and Pierre Cardin are not owned by Agnona, nor is a collaboration in progress today.
Francesco believes that the enveloping spirit of the weave of fabric gives soul to any shape. So why not be open to new pioneering explorations by creating his own line? Encouraged by his couturier friends and thanks to the stylistic collaboration with Walter Albini, in 1972 Francesco Ilorini Mo launches his own collection of ready-to-wear: essential and soft; precious and comfortable, with the mission to give protection and pleasure to whoever wears it. This is the birth of the Agnona style, whose contemporary flavor and simple lines gain aspirational status in the collective imagination and a place of honor in the history of fashion.
From thread to fabric, from fabric to wardrobe, always through the filter of authentic values that are true and always relevant, Francesco Ilorini Mo lived an extraordinary adventure. And it still has not ended. Over time, the men’s line and the home and textile accessories complement the women’s collections and complete the Agnona universe. Through its products, his company has become a perpetual point of reference for those who love to stand out discreetly. Today as yesterday, the founder’s fidelity with nature continues to inspire and drive Agnona. Aesthetic sensibility and functionality open up to the fluidity of our time in an emotional journey where home is the world, family is the fulcrum, grace is the code, and spontaneity is the key.