I’m not sure if it’s symptomatic of London, but irrespective of the weather, there’s one piece of clothing I can count on spotting every day. I’m referring to the prominence of fine knit tops, a shirt style that’s easily breathable as it is practical, making it the ultimate transeasonal wardrobe staple.
Long gone are the days when wool or cashmere were exclusively reserved for winter months, adding a cover of warmth when styled under trench coats or over thermal base layers. While natural fibres like marino and angora have always been peddled to us as an essential that provides a chic snugness on cooler days, fine knit tops have arrived to prove you don’t need to skip on those qualities during summer’s reign.
What are Fine Knit Tops?
“Knitwear is quite versatile as it can be dressed up or down depending on the environment,” explains Jasmine Ammitzboell, the design and production lead of Asta Resort, a Gen Z-focused ready-to-wear label that’s made fine knitting a motif of the brand. “The shimmering paillette yarn was naturally becoming the brand’s signature,” adds her sister Helena, the brand’s founder and creative director. It weaves a veil of lustre into life’s most special moments, sort of acting as a physical embodiment of joy, zest and excitement.”
To put it plainly, the best fine knit tops are categorised as any style that uses very thin knitted fabric. They could be rendered in cosier forms, like snow white coloured long sleeves that can be styled under tank tops and paired with wool trousers. Or, as Christopher Esber has regularly done, employ a sense of precise tailoring by fashioning pure cashmere weave into shirts with open-front twisted loops or stracciatella-coloured silk knits into polo shirts. The latter style also appeared on Miu Miu’s spring/summer 2025 runway in tessellating check prints, offsetting the Overlook Hotel wallpaper-esque geometric printed skirts with a sense of Saltburn ease. (See: Y2k collegiate with a masculine air.)
But when it comes to warm climates, they can be threaded into sensual shapes with “shiny textures and glistening yarns”, as the Asta Resort team put it. “One of the beautiful things about knitwear is that it is low-maintenance and non-creasing,” they add. “Our pieces marry casual ‘slow’ living with an extroverted shine, which makes anyone feel special.”
“We’re constantly interested in the lives and mentality of the jet-set,” they continue. “Our [customer] has a very fun lifestyle; she takes flash pictures at all of her soirees and is on the move from scene to scene.” The advantage of fine knit tops is the practicality they allow. Truly effortless, they can be paired with jeans or slipped over a sheer skirt with equal measure and don’t require any fussiness, steaming or pinning to make you look put together. Best of all, they still have a homely quality to them that imbues your outfit with a sense of comfort, like a hug for your body wherever you are.
