Ones to Watch: Zankov
Over the last 15 years, knitwear specialist Henry Zankov has been hard at work designing and consulting across the fashion industry; in February of 2020, the designer stepped out on his own to debut Zankov, his namesake brand filled with eye-catching, high-quality knitwear.
“We started Zankov about a year and a half ago and the first two seasons, which I call editions because I don’t want it to necessarily be about being delivered at a certain time,” the designer spoke of his eponymous label over the summer. “It’s more interesting for the stores and buyers to work out when they want the collection. To me, it’s less about trends and more about longevity, collecting pieces to add to your collection.”
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Since its inception, the brand has brought forth a distinct point of view through an emphasis on genderless and graphic styles in bright colors (as in now-signature stripes, checkerboard and colorblocking), rooted in high-quality materials, intriguing knit techniques and a novelty sportif élan.
“I always love mixing: a bright color with saturation that almost feels synthetic, mixed with natural materials such as cashmere, wool, merino, alpaca.” He spoke of his designs. Within fall, Zankov continued his offering of warmer yarns — mohair, cashmere, brushed alpaca sweaters — and peppered in jacquard and intarsia-patterned separates, including sweater vests, crew- and turtle-neck jumpers and button-up cardigans.
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For spring 2022, his latest (and debut spring) offering, the designer expanded into more seasonless, lighter offerings through mercerized and organic cottons, viscose crepe and repurposed shirting materials. Although the brand has offered impeccably crafted knitwear since its inception, spring displays the most growth in terms of silhouette and style. For instance, the introduction of graphic, hand-painted and silk-screened shirting (redesigned from deadstock and thrifted button-downs); organic cotton polos with perforated mesh stitching; a boxy, vertically knit, striped polo dress (or tunic); 1950s-inspired cycling tops and mock neck Ts (the ’50s and ’60s are referenced seasonally), and more.
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Across Zankov’s collections, the colors red, green and yellow remain signature, while complementing tones (baby blue, neutrals) are peppered in, giving each collection upbeat energy through visual optimism, while still feeling timeless. Currently, the brand retails from $545 up to $725 and is available to direct-to-consumer. Along with plans to expand categorically, Zankov will be debuting on Net-a-porter, its first global stockist, in early October.
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