ShareStefano Ricci celebrated its 50th anniversary with a memorable fashion show on Sunday evening in Egypt. The Florentine house, specializing in very high end men's clothing, chose nothing less than the temple of Hatshepsut as the set for the show, on the outskirts of the city of Luxor, in one of the best-preserved temples with its majestic portico, backed by a chain of limestone cliffs overlooking the site of Deir El-Bahari. For this event, it gathered some 400 guests.
Models present creations by Italy's iconic fashion house Stefano Ricci at the temple of the Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Hatshepsut on the west bank of the Nile river, off Egypt's southern city of Luxor, on October 9, 2022. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP)This is the first time ever that such a fashion show has been organized in this city. Founder Stefano Ricci could hardly hide his emotion. "This night is really very special for me. I fell in love with Luxor 25 years ago. When I visited this temple for the first time, I immediately thought that I would have dreamed of doing a fashion show there. And tonight, the dream has come true," he said with a big smile.
Exactly half a century ago, in October 1972, he founded with his wife Claudia a small tie workshop that has become, over the years, an ultra-luxurious men's ready-to-wear brand, 100% Made in Italy, supported for more than 15 years by his two sons, Filippo, in charge of style, and Niccolo, as general manager.
The Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, a long-time friend of the entrepreneur, opened the evening in an elegant white suit, singing Aida, Verdi's opera, which takes place in Egypt. In the wake of this, the first models began to descend the grand staircase of the temple with the 25 giant statues of Queen Hatshepsut, sculpted with masculine features because she became pharaoh, as a backdrop. A very cinematographic decor and scenography, reminiscent of the peplums from Hollywood's golden age.
The show hit hard from the beginning with a series of superb evening outfits, starting with three first sparkling looks, composed of black pants and sumptuous jackets woven from golden silk threads. This was followed by tuxedos, double-breasted blazers and gold two-button jackets cut from shimmering blue or copper brocade.
The oriental influence is felt in the long maharajah jackets, but also in the jacquards inspired by ancient Egypt. "This is a celebratory collection, but it's not a retrospective. These are the models for spring-summer 2023 and most of them will be custom made in limited edition," Filippo Ricci explained. All the designs were woven in blended silks at the Antico Setificio Fiorentino, acquired by the Ricci family in 2010, one of the oldest silk factories in Europe, located in Fiesole, in the hills north of Florence.-in.fashionnetwork.com
Models present creations by Italy's iconic fashion house Stefano Ricci at the temple of the Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Hatshepsut on the west bank of the Nile river, off Egypt's southern city of Luxor, on October 9, 2022. - Italian luxury menswear brand Stefano Ricci celebrates its 50th anniversary by holding a fashion show in Egypt's Temple of Hatshepsut. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP)
