ITALIAN luxury designer Stefano Ricci and his sons are playing at being kings for the day as they unveil their latest collection at the sumptuous Reggia di Caserta near Naples.

The decision to host an intimate preview of their Spring/Summer Collection 2020 at the Unesco world heritage site rather than during Milan’s frenetic fashion week is emblematic of a brand The New York Times dubs “Clothier to the 0.001 Per cent”.

The Florence-based menswear and accessories brand, founded in 1972, in its latest collection, which features pinstripe suits, colourful knitwear, field jackets and a tux, is dubbed “King for a Day”. In an era where designer goods can be bought online or snapped up in outlets, Ricci offers the world’s wealthiest men a personalised experience in buying Made in Italy items created using traditional Florentine sartorial techniques.

“Sometimes we have superstitious customers who want trousers, a suit, shirts for example for important appointments, and given the extremely tight deadlines they give us to deliver the clothes, they send their private plane to get them on time,” Niccolo Ricci, the company’s CEO, said at the preview this week

Focusing on the richest segment of society in emerging markets like Russia, China and the Middle East has shielded it from factors weighing on sales at other luxury houses. “We’ve found there is no price limit if the customer finds himself with a quality product,” Niccolo Ricci said. “So even for a suit that costs 25,000 euros, if the customer understands the work that has been done on it then the customer is on board”.

The company registered a five per cent growth in the first quarter of this year “despite difficulties such as the tariffs war between the US and China, [and] Brexit or no Brexit”.

Published in Dawn, May 24th, 2019