MILAN — Last year was a record one for Stefano Ricci, and 2023 is looking more than promising.
The Tuscan luxury menswear company celebrated five decades in business in 2022 and, during Pitti Uomo and Men’s Fashion Week in Milan it will unveil a book to mark the anniversary.
“The book is topping off the two-day event held in Luxor last year, which included a fashion show for 400 guests, and one chapter will be dedicated to this initiative,” Niccolò Ricci, chief executive officer of the company, said in an interview. “We prepared that event for one year, involving 1,000 workers and we are still reaping the benefits. It created a lot of buzz.”
Ricci, son of the namesake founder and chairman of the brand, was in a positive frame of mind as the company registered a 45 percent increase in sales in the first quarter of 2023 compared with the same period in 2022.
Revenues in 2022 totaled more than 150 million euros, surpassing pre-pandemic sales, Ricci said.
Sales in the Chinese market have recovered, doubling compared with last year. In the first quarter, revenues in the U.S. rose 9 percent, and in Europe jumped 38 percent, compared with the same period in 2022.
Ricci said the markets are quite balanced, with the U.S. and Europe accounting for around 25 percent of the total, and China contributing between 25 and 30 percent.
There are five stores in the U.S., where the New York boutique has reopened on 57th Street and Madison Avenue, moving from Park Avenue. The other stores are in Miami’s Design District, on Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles and at Wynn Las Vegas and at The Shops at Crystals on the Strip.
There are already 18 stores in China, including in Hong Kong and Macau, and a third boutique in Beijing is opening next in the China Central Mall.
Ricci said he is eyeing a development in Southeast Asia, where the company’s first duty free boutique will open this month in Singapore’s Changi Airport, and in Saudi Arabia.
There are 72 Stefano Ricci stores globally, of which about 60 are directly operated. A new unit in Madrid is coming up next.
Asked about what is propelling the strong gains, Ricci said the COVID-19 pandemic was a cause for reflection, “taking the time to analyze the organization, working on time-to-market, the development of the collections, optimizing the resources, with increasingly innovative and performing materials. We adapted and changed to the times. And a large portion of our customers are even stronger, they have spent less during the pandemic and are happy to shop. We have emerged as a point of reference and we see increased customer loyalty.”
Shirts, ties and suits are among the brand’s bestselling products, but Ricci said that leisurewear, sportswear and knitwear are also very important.
Ricci’s brother Filippo holds the role of creative director. Together they traveled to the Galápagos Islands as part of the Explorer project — which has also in the past ventured into Iceland — and where they photographed part of the spring 2024 collection.
The brothers explored the archipelago with the team at the Charles Darwin Foundation, all while supporting conservation action and on the ground research.
“It’s a magical place, a paradise, where everything is super controlled for protection, and it was an incredible experience,” enthused Ricci. In fact, the project was carried out under the supervision of the Galápagos National Park Directorate, respecting the archipelago’s fragile and unique ecosystems. The company is supporting the research efforts undertaken by the Charles Darwin Foundation to protect the Galápagos giant tortoises, Ricci noted.
He said the team came into close contact with the Galápagos Islands’ fauna and flora, including its turtles, sea lions, marine and land iguanas and brown pelicans, to name a few. The company also planned an underwater scuba photo shoot at Isla Guy Fawkes Sur.
“We saw the melting of Europe’s largest glacier last fall in Iceland. In this new adventure, we experienced raw nature up close, in an ancient and primordial way,” Ricci said. “It is by visiting such locations and meeting passionate scientists and researchers in the cradle of evolution itself, that one can truly come to terms with the meaning of sustainability. It is a theme that many talk about, but that few truly understand. We are determined to continue with this mission: Explore the world, to explore ourselves.”
This production was created under the supervision of Terry D. Garcia, CEO of Exploration Ventures, and former executive vice president of the National Geographic Society, and explorer, artist and National Geographic Fellow Mattias Klum.
The colors of nature inform Ricci’s spring 2024 collection. Quality, Made in Italy production are key, as is comfort, and nothing is excessive.
A field jacket is the highlight of the collection, in soft chamois lambskin leather from neutral-to-bark green tones, with pockets and collar that have a worn-in look.
There are cotton or linen and silk sweatshirts in colors reminiscent of the waters of the marshes, the cactus forests, the shells of the giant turtles and the waters of the islands, as well as cherry red formfitting jackets.
Knitwear is prevalent, and there are jogging suits, in linen and silk or silk and cotton, but also faded jeans and cargo trousers worn with an overshirt or a light calfskin leather dust coat paired with Super 150’s wool trousers.
Crocodile remains the main focus in leathers, rendered in a pure white two-button jacket and a long-sleeve shirt jacket, and elsewhere combined with a technical fabric for a hooded jacket.
Tailored field jackets in Solaro fabric and shirts in aloe-washed linen are other standouts.
For the evening, outerwear fabrics by the weavers of the 18th century Antico Setificio Fiorentino, one of the few remaining workshops for silk production left in the world and controlled by Stefano Ricci, are paired with elegant shirts with French cuffs embellished with precious white gold rectangular cuff links with set diamonds, a signature of the brand.
Stefano Ricci also has a strong home and interior design business. Most recently it has designed and furnished the new presidential suite in the Grand Hotel Principe di Piemonte, in Tuscany’s Viareggio beach town, covering 1,512 square feet and brimming with Carrara marble and silk from the Antico Setificio Fiorentino, crystal and silverware, and porcelain. The company also creates interiors for luxury yachts.