Rocco Ragni founded the knitwear brand of the same name with the aim of creating and producing a
wardrobe that is warm, comfortable but also eye-catching and magnetic. The brand’s main interest is in
creating and producing long-lasting garments intended for everyone and suitable for every body, which
surprise through color and attention to detail, and which are suitable for everyday life. But that’s not all.
For the past few years, in fact, the brand has undertaken a collaboration with the Antognolla golf club in
Perugia, whose purpose is to promote the Italian cashmere industry by pointing out how fashion and this
sport are very well connected. A connection that certainly did not go unnoticed by the attentive authors of
the well-known U.S. magazine Forbes, who cited the craftsmanship and tradition behind the Rocco Ragni
brand. Below is the partial article from the world’s most famous business magazine with its translation.
So what does fashion have to do with it?
Antognolla is a high-end destination surrounded by high-end Italian fashion artisans. The resort works with
local brands like Rocco Ragni and is in talks with Lorena Antoniazzi, local cashmere brands that are part of
the Umbrian product that is part of the unique golf destination. The resort is also working with Italian
model Mariano Di Vaio, who is an avid golfer. “With the golf aesthetic becoming increasingly popular in
fashion, I can say without a doubt that we have seen an increase in interest from various fashion brands,”
says Nicolò Giommetti, Antognolla’s marketing manager. “Our golf course has served as a shooting point
for editorials and catalogs, and we are amazed at the intersection of the golf and fashion worlds.”
When the clubhouse opens, its pro-shop will include local and international golf apparel brands. Already in
talks are Umbrian cashmere brands. “Antognolla presents a lifestyle characterized by authenticity, elegance and tradition, and our brand offerings will reflect just that,” says Giommetti. This year Antognolla hosted the Rocco Ragni Tournament, sponsored by the designer of the same name. “For the Minestrini Master Cup 2023, Antognolla brought together artists from the school of Maestro Ministrini to paint beautiful landscapes during the course of the tournament,” he says.
When you look at the craftsmanship of fashion in countries like Italy, Lebanon, the Philippines and India,
you quickly realize that those skills have been passed down from grandmothers, to their children and their
children’s children. Such is the case with fashion designer Rocco Ragni, who calls himself a tailor 2.0. He did
not go to fashion design school, so he learned from the women in his life and created a successful
cashmere-centered business in Perugia. In his workshop you can often find his mother on the knitting
machine, continuing in the work she passed on to her son.
Entering his atelier in Perugia, it is a bustle of the best cashmere knitters. Downstairs are men and women
skilled in their individual stations. Some stand at the knitting machines creating only sleeves, some only the
back of a sweater, some the front and some collars. And on the other side, there are stations of workers
who put together each part of a sweater by sewing a sleeve on the back, on the front, on the collar. It’s an
organized system but it works. Upstairs is the brand’s showroom and offices.
I like working with the best cashmere because it is a yarn that encompasses many themes of emotion,
tradition, color, style and design,” says Ragni, who has just come off his summer vacation from a
Mediterranean cruise where he was stimulated as a designer. His aesthetic is inspired by nature and
respect for the Umbrian environment. For all the reasons he loves being a designer, which are the same
reasons he says golf and fashion are related. “The relationship between golf and fashion is definitely
tradition and elegance. Tradition because both golf and cashmere have long, if different, stories to tell.
Elegance, not by the term that may be commonly associated with a suit, but with the elegance of the game of golf and the elegance of the soft caress of cashmere yarn,” he says.
The Rocco Ragni brand has been collaborating with Antognolla for several years, Ragni says. “We often
sponsor important contests where we offer cashmere prizes,” he says, and for those who want to see the
complete collection, they can go to our boutique in the town where I grew up, where my journey began
and where I still work today, which is only 10 minutes from Antognolla Golf.”
