Fashion commentator Glynis Traill-Nash celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Zegna Wool Award with Italian luxury menswear label Ermenegildo Zegna and speaks to Nicholas Atgemis of bow tie boutique Le Noeud Papillon about men’s fashion and his style philosophy;
By Glynis Traill-Nash
Italian luxury menswear label Ermenegildo Zegna put a global spotlight on Sydney and Australia’s wool growers recently. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Zegna Wool Award, which recognises the best of Australian superfine merino growers, the company put on a gala event that will have Sydney event organisers scratching their heads over how to top it.
On April 23, over 900 guests, including 200 international media, arrived at Sydney’s Royal Hall of Industries where they enjoyed champagne while walking through a textiles exhibition, then a multimedia screening room, before being ushered through to a catwalk show that recreated the Milan fall menswear presentation.
Particular to this event, however, was the finale in which models – the majority flown in especially for the event – flooded the black and gold glass catwalk wearing an Australian capsule collection created to celebrate the anniversary. The houndstooth suits were a nod to Zegna archival fabrics of the 1960s, when the award began, but created in superfine merino. The final touches were silk ties and pocket squares printed with dot designs by indigenous artist Dorothy Napangardi.
The party continued after the award presentation (the Hundy family from Mudgee, NSW, took top honours), with a performance by the Temper Trap, and Alex Dimitriades and model Robyn Lawley hitting the decks.
Nicholas Atgemis launched Le Noeud Papillon (French for bow tie) in 2008, after selling his share in Sydney nightclub Shh. Looking for a new venture, he noticed a distinct lack of quality bow ties on the market and decided to change this. “Everybody told me I was mad and who would wears bow ties anyway?” says Ategemis. “I ignored them and today we have a successful small niche market business which sells bows around the world.”
Glynis Traill-Nash: Do many men know how to tie a bow tie? Nicholas Atgemis: It was a difficult thing to get men to tie them again – the art had often died with their grandfathers. We are still working on it. Every day is a grind but then YouTube came along and made things a lot easier. Our videos show a variety of ways to tie a bow tie, from various shapes to how to tie them on a flat surface:
https://www.lenoeudpapillon.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/i-am-going-to-call-this-groomsmans-knot.html
Glynis Traill-Nash: When is it appropriate to wear a bow tie? Nicholas Atgemis: Whenever you put on your underwear. It really comes down to the style and lifestyle of the individual. Some customers we have wear a bow tie every day, even when they are smoking a pipe in their slippers at home. Some choose to wear bow ties for cocktail events, to set themselves apart from the open-shirters and the standard-issue tie wearers. Black tie is always a great time for bow ties, but I find I am being invited to fewer black tie events these days and I am sure that trend would be felt across Australia as a whole.
Glynis Traill-Nash: What is your pet hate in men’s fashion? Nicholas Atgemis: I am not a fan of permanent fashion like tattoos. I get upset when I see young people I think have not fully formed their world view who have copied celebrities to have a whole sleeve of an arm done. I realise that my views will offend some people but I no longer care. I think the problem of tattoos has become a pandemic fashion trend that needs to be talked about more as a myopic issue for young people rather than as an individual’s right to express themselves.
Glynis Traill-Nash: What five things should every man have in his wardrobe? Nicholas Atgemis: Jeans, a pair of well made Chelseas, a unique sports jacket, a vibrant pocket square, a tailor-made shirt. After you have these five things, start working on your bow ties, tuxedos, etc.
Glynis Traill-Nash: What are the key elements of preppy style and will it stay for long? Nicholas Atgemis: The club collar, the club collar with pin, the rounded cuff, the varsity jacket, the shawl lapel cardigan, the corduroy pants, the subdued tones, the use of wool or flannel, the deconstructed tie…. I think it is the sum of the elements.
Preppy has been back for about five years and I think it’s on its way out now. I don’t know what is coming, but I think it will be using new technologies to reinvigorate the old. I also see printing on wool and weaving wool on jacquard looms as a possible move in the future, such as wool with new textures and motifs, etc.
Glynis Traill-Nash: Where are most of your customers from – Australia or overseas? Nicholas Atgemis: The bulk of our wholesaling is done in Sydney. Stores such as Claude Sebastian in Martin Place and The Strand Hatters move some bow ties. The rest is done through our website which services customers across Australia as well as countries such as the Ukraine, Russia, USA, Germany, Canada, Brazil and England to name but a few. Because we are a niche market product we seem to draw a fan base from all four corners of the globe. I think my job would be much harder to do if I were competing in a mainstream market place. However, because we own the intellectual property to the majority of our silk designs, our customers are inclined to seek us out.
Glynis Traill-Nash is the Fashion Editor of The Australian newspaper.
