As someone once said, once you've had cashmere next to your skin, you'll never go back to ordinary wool. What more cashmere silk!Fine gauge, high quality, totally simple & modern, this limited edition graffiti cashmere silk top -- a collaboration between iconic French designer agnes b. & artist Jen Cri -- will seldom go a week without an outing.
Available for both women & men.
(*Also come check out agnes b. sneakers for men!)
agnes b.
We're accustomed to all the big-names, but most of us usually don't pay attention to other designers in the enormous & diverse fashion community. She may be relatively unknown here, but agnes b. is quite a big deal in Europe (43 shops), Japan (101 shops), & the rest of Asia (93 shops) -- enough that there are legions of "agnes b. groupies" all around the world!
Born Agnès Andrée Marguerite Troublé but known simply as agnès b. (with a small “a”) in the fashion world (she borrowed the first letter of her first husband's surname, Bourgeois), the French designer has, without fanfare (IOW, largely sans advertising), grown her chic, low-key designs into a revered art-in-fashion global empire.
agnes b. may have gotten her start designing menswear, but the variety of products & the breadth of interests which fall under her brandname today is staggering: clothing for both gender & all ages (including children), accessories of ALL kinds, cosmetics, florist, café , chocolate, tableware, movie production company, art gallery & bookshop... mind-boggling, isn't it? And you thought agnes b. was just some fancy clothing label.
agnes b. creations have that ineluctably French quality that’s all in the clean, quiet simplicity. Old-fashioned yet timeless, restrained but ineffably stylish; it is a classic look that's constantly being refreshed.
A great champion of the arts, agnes b. has also, for the last 30 years, supported & nurtured hundreds of young artists, illustrators, writers, musicians & moviemakers.
This time round, she is, through a collaboration using graffiti on knits, mentoring Jean-Christophe Bisson (or "Jen Cri" for short), a polymorphic artist known for his curious exploration & mix of painting, photography, installation & even music.
agnes b. attending the 58th International Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, wearing a pin of her signature lizard. "It's quick and lazy," she once said of the creature that's her trademark emblem, "just like the way I work."In her late-sixties, agnes b. is now the mother of five children & the grandmother of a dozen. Still hanging out with artists & rock stars (Philippe Starck & David Bowie are among her most loyal customers), designing fashion, taking pictures, working with new film-makers, she remains a cool free spirit.
Born & raised in Versailles, agnes b. spent every day after school playing in the gardens of the palace.
As a young single mum, agnes b. would buy clothes for herself & her twin sons in the fleamarkets. Her unique style at the time -- which also included selections from France's Monoprix discount chain -- caught the eye of fashion editors at Elle, who offered her a job with the magazine.
The first agnès b. boutique opened in Les Halles (the old market district of Paris) in 1975.
The first ever agnes b. flagship/one-stop lifestyle store, anywhere in the world, was opened late last year in Hong Kong's tallest building, the IFC.Called 'La Loggia', the beguiling store was conceptualised by UK-trained design wunderkind Andre Fu, based on the original design of agnes b.'s own family summer home in Antibe, on the French Riviera, which her great grandfather built in 1892.
Covering 150,000 sq ft, La Loggia houses 9 shop units & is separated into 8 different experiences, including Femme, Homme, Voyage, Sport b. & Bijoux boutiques.
Involved in the May '68 Paris student riots, agnes b. was also reportedly a rebellious & socially-aware campaigner, who continues to be active in numerous humanitarian & charity projects today.
Is there anything this lady hasn't put her name to?
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