
Agnona was founded in 1953 in Borgosesia, Italy by Francesco Ilorini Mo as an upmarket cashmere-and-wool textile mill supplying European luxury houses. For its first fifty years, Agnona operated essentially as a wholesale fabric house — its hand-finished cashmeres and rare-fibre wools (vicuña, baby cashmere, the celebrated 'Wonder' cashmere blend) were the foundation of garments produced by other brands but rarely sold under Agnona's own name.
Agnona's ready-to-wear era began in 1999 when the brand launched its first womenswear collection, capitalising on the textile lineage to produce minimalist Italian luxury that read as a quieter alternative to Loro Piana. The Agnona vocabulary settled around oversized cashmere coats, hand-loomed wool tailoring, and a colour palette of mineral neutrals — chestnut, fog, cream, ink. Production has remained primarily Italian.
The Zegna Group acquired Agnona in 1999 and operated it as a subsidiary until 2024, when the brand was sold back to a group of private investors and refounded under new creative direction. The brand's flagship in Milan (Via Sant'Andrea), Borgosesia, and Paris (Rue Saint-Honoré) remain anchored to the Italian textile heritage. Few quiet-luxury brands have such an unambiguous textile-house origin — and few have stayed so faithful to that foundation across seventy years.
Shop Secondhand
Archive and rare Agnona pieces mostly circulate on the resale market. Japanese sites don't ship to China — buy via a proxy like Buyee; most Western sites ship internationally or are reachable with a US/EU forwarder.
Japan · via Buyee
US / Europe
Timeline5
1953—2023·70 yrs
- 1953
Founded in Borgosesia
Francesco Agnona founds Agnona in Borgosesia, Italy, dedicated to the finest cashmere, vicuña and noble fibres.
- 1999
Acquired by Ermenegildo Zegna
Ermenegildo Zegna Group acquires Agnona, integrating its noble-fibre expertise within the broader luxury group.
- 2013
Stefano Pilati creative direction
Stefano Pilati is appointed creative director, modernising the house's quiet-luxury silhouette.
- 2020
Sold to Quattror investment group
Zegna divests Agnona to investment vehicle Quattror, beginning a standalone brand chapter.
- 2023
70-year heritage collection
Agnona celebrates its 70th anniversary with an archival capsule revisiting its founding noble-fibre codes.





