MILAN — Against a dampened outlook for the luxury sector, the Florentine sartorial brand Stefano Ricci isn’t standing still.
For its fall 2026 collection, in keeping with its world trip concept dubbed “SR Explorer,” the brand traveled to Chilean Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego to track the puma, the feline predator that best epitomizes the untamed beauty of the region.
“It’s an incredible place where nature really expresses all its force and violence. It’s very cold and it was a challenging experience,” the company’s chief executive officer Niccolò Ricci told WWD. “But these kinds of experiences are the most electrifying for the whole team and our clientele, too, gets inspired by our expeditions.”
Over several days in the region, the trip — Stefano Ricci’s eighth — spanned the icy waters of the Grey Glacier and the Bernal Glacier with its fjords, the Magellan Strait and Isla Magdalena with their penguins and national parks, including Torres del Paine populated by guanacos, condors, sea lions, elephant seals, and Darwin’s rheas, a native Patagonian ostrich, in addition to the puma and other wildlife.
“Since the beginning we have approached these expeditions with a bucket list mindset, curating the places that we want to visit. In Patagonia, the moment we saw a sign reading ‘El Fin del Mundo’ [End of the World] was very special,” Ricci observed.
The untamed beauty of nature takes center stage in the fall 2026 campaign images captured by Andy Mann, the Emmy-nominated director, National Geographic photographer and marine conservationist.
The Stefano Ricci fall 2026 collection and campaign in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego.
Andy Mann/Courtesy of Stefano Ricci
The destination also informed the fall lineup, which straddles the brand’s signature sartorial elegance and performance, the latter best seen in a snow parka with fox fur-edged hoodie, paired with technical cargo pants or corduroy trousers for life back in the city.
The outdoorsy vibe resonates throughout, in the multipocketed cashmere blousons with leather inserts, the cropped shearlings and windproof field jackets, as well as the cotton and cashmere shirts with patch pockets and tactile cashmere and wool knitwear, in addition to the laser-cut fur tops bearing zigzag or chevron motifs.
The earthy palette of browns, pampa greens, and guanaco beiges further enhances the collection’s life-in-the-great-outdoors vibe, only occasionally countered with pops of vivid blue and black.
“Every six months is a new challenge to reinvent our DNA and the tradition of elegance and classic refinement that we’re known for by always valuing the fibers and textiles we use by employing innovative approaches and techniques,” Ricci explained.
To this end, Stefano Ricci continued to explore a slightly more relaxed side to its conservative tailoring, for example achieving enhanced ease in the deconstructed blazers or duster coats tossed over double-pleated pantsuits crafted from Alpha yarn, a precious and superfine vicuna fiber.
Inspired by the penguins, which appear in a dedicated shot, a total black tuxedo — crafted using textiles by the storied Antico Setificio Fiorentino mill — is paired with crisp white cotton or silk shirts with buttons made of Swarovski crystals or precious stones.
The collection will also be showcased at the upcoming edition of Pitti Uomo, running Jan. 13 to 16.
The Stefano Ricci fall 2026 collection and campaign in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego.
Andy Mann/Courtesy of Stefano Ricci
Adding a social responsibility component to the Patagonia trip as part of its ongoing commitment to supporting local communities wherever it hosts an SR Explorer mission, Stefano Ricci has forged ties with the Fundación Científica Acción Fauna, focused on puma conservation programs within their natural habitat in central Chile.
For its collections, the brand has so far visited Perù; Luxor, Egypt; Iceland; the Galápagos Islands; Mongolia, as well as Cambodia and India, for which it tapped photographer Steve McCurry.
Despite a global slowdown in luxury spending, the company is not losing sight of its long-term ambitions and targets, including retail expansion.
“Our strategy is defined by a 20-year vision,” said Ricci, who joined the family company in 2002. “We made it one of our priorities to invest in retail and have all our products within an environment that reflects our identity, either with directly operated flagship stores or shop-in-shops.”
More openings are lined up, including the brand’s first store in Washington, D.C., bowing at the beginning of December and the first flagship in Rome, slated to open in the first quarter of 2026.
Retail currently accounts for 65 percent of the brand’s turnover, with licensed doors and shops-in-shop bringing in another 20 percent, the CEO said. Overall Stefano Ricci boasts 82 stores and logged sales of 233 million euros in 2024.
After years of sustained and consistent growth, the company’s CEO acknowledged the complex scenario characterized by geopolitical turmoil and economic uncertainty. He declined to disclose 2025 forecasts, noting that the holiday season typically provides a single-digit boost on sales.
In the first nine months of the year, revenues stood at 152 million euros, a slight decline compared to the same period in 2024, even net of a big-ticket, special interior project last year. As of Sept. 30, the performance at retail reported a 3 to 4 percent increase, Ricci said.
The Stefano Ricci fall 2026 collection and campaign in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego.
Filippo Ricci/Courtesy of Stefano Ricci
Although far from full recovery, China has been showing small signs of a rebound in recent weeks, Ricci said, while all other key markets for the brands including the U.S., Europe, India and the Middle East are sustaining momentum.
After opening a new state-of-the-art logistics facility in Florence and relocating its tailoring atelier from the original site in the city center to Caldine, a small town close to Fiesole, Tuscany, the brand also finalized the acquisition of glassmaker Moleria Locchi.
