The new Stefano Ricci Autumn/Winter 26–27 collection will be presented in the second half of November. I went to visit their website www.stefanoricci.com What I saw impressed me.
To Stand Out: The Key to a Listening Luxury
To stand out has always been the key to Stefano Ricci’s success in artisanal tailoring. Founded in the 1970s with his wife Claudia, the brand began with hand-sewn ties, a few women’s pieces, and an absolute devotion to detail. Soon, however, the creative compass pointed toward a single horizon: men’s fashion, elevated to its highest expression.
Ricci attracted a very particular clientele: self-made men, billionaires who weren’t seeking ostentation but distinction. Men willing to wear limited pieces, crafted with refined taste, without logos or noise.
But Ricci went further. He added an unexpected dimension: travel. Not as tourism, but as aesthetic and spiritual adventure. Each collection became an expedition into other cultures, other rhythms, other silences. Thus was born the Explorer Project: a way to enrich fine dressing with the soul of territories untouched by man.
Mission Peru: Fashion in Times of Restitution
The 2025/2026 edition of the Explorer Project is deeply intertwined with Peru: From Florence to Lima. From Lima to Cusco, visit Pisac and Chinchero, take the train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes Station, then take a bus to Machu Picchu. In Palcayo, visit Rainbow Mountain. From Cusco to Arequipa, go to Achoma, visit the Colca Canyon, see the condors soaring, and the Salinas y Aguada Blanca National Reserve. From there, you can see the Ubinas, Pichupichu, Misti, and Chachani volcanoes to the southwest, and the snow-capped peaks of Chuccura and Huarancante to the north. This reserve is also a protected area for vicuñas, taruca deer, Andean flamingos, and James’s flamingos, as well as the quiñual forests. From Arequipa to Puno, visit Lake Titicaca and the Uros Islands. A perfectly dressed man walks through authentic places, rich in history and soul. Among the campaign’s accompanying content, one story stands out: the tale of Hiram Bingham.
The Yale professor arrived at Machu Picchu in 1911, guided by a local boy. He took boxes of archaeological finds under the pretext of studying them. But behind this scientific mission lay a will to appropriate. After his death, Yale refused to return the artifacts. Only legal pressure, a criminal complaint for illicit appropriation, and public outcry in Peru achieved the unthinkable: the treasures were returned to their homeland.
Ricci does not ignore this story. He dresses it. He honors it. He transforms it into part of his visual narrative. Because true luxury cannot be indifferent to memory.
The Man Who Contemplates
This is not just about dressing well: it’s about enriching the man who contemplates. The one who respects nature, wild animals, and pauses to watch a Peruvian man spin alpaca wool with a satisfaction that unsettles. That man, untouched by digital urgency, spins slowly. And the traveler —immersed in speed— wonders what has been lost.
In this meeting of two worlds, Ricci’s fashion does not clash. It rests upon the landscape without altering its harmony. It dresses in respect, contemplation, authenticity. And so, every visitor who lands on Stefano Ricci’s website —expecting to see clothes— finds something more: an experience that transforms. They leave different from how they arrived. Slower. More awake. More human.
In this encounter between two worlds, Ricci’s fashion doesn’t clash. It rests upon the landscape without disrupting its harmony. It is imbued with respect, contemplation, and authenticity. And so, every visitor who arrives at Stefano Ricci’s website, expecting to see clothes, finds something more: a transformative experience. They will leave changed from how they arrived. Slower. More aware. More human. With the option to download a book about that Andean world of that country which some still call «Worth a Peru.»
A Rich Combination
Uniting artisanal work with exquisite pieces, as Armani did at the Pinacoteca di Brera, is a gesture of respect and sophistication. There is an analogy here with Stefano Ricci, who presents his creations amidst the art, not to stand out, but to engage in dialogue with it.
His garments do not seek to impose themselves on the landscape, but to merge with the authentic, with the untouched, with what humankind has not yet altered. It is there that fashion reaches its highest form: when it becomes contemplation, harmony, a silent gesture.
Between what is handmade by man and
what is made on earth by the Creator.
To explore the complete digital book
The Mission Peru FW25–26 campaign is part of Stefano Ricci’s Explorer project. The digital book, with images, video, and behind-the-scenes footage, is available on the official website:
