Sense of style: Stefano Ricci

There is a Florentine style – its soft-shouldered, more comfortable tailoring, the kind of thing my father and grandfather wore. The tailor pulls in at the sides to give more shape and that needs a lot of work, and the cost is relative to the materials and the amount of work that goes into it, but I love that and always have. Being Florentine is a big thing to me – it means we like to see things done properly, and believe that there are other people out there in the world who do, too.

Certainly our brand alone isn't enough to justify our prices. More and more people aren't impressed by ads or testimonials either. It may be a niche, but there's a customer out there who wants to dress like himself, not like some celebrity. That's why the quality has to be there, which is why for me there's no alternative but to make every last thing in Italy. But that's not for the 'Made in Italy' label, which is no guarantee of quality in itself anymore. It's for the old hand skills you still find here.

One of the reasons for the company's success is that the competition didn’t believe in this extreme quality niche anymore. There were other companies – mentioning no names – that had the market in their hands, lost it, twisted themselves into fashion brands and found they were no longer at the top of the pyramid. When those people were still talking of the Middle East as the big luxury market, we were opening shops in China. Some said we were mad, but you have to keep ahead. The people in China convinced me that, as far as luxury goods are concerned, their nation was going to conquer the world.

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It would be easy to say that true luxury is friendship, loving your job, a glass of cool water in the desert, and I do believe that's true. But when it comes to selling things, luxury has become very confused. What I think it's about is emotion and loyalty, and that goes beyond the clothing. The customer has to feel good before he looks good. At this level, respect for the customer comes in not making too much – because you can't jump in quantity without damaging the quality – in never having a sale, making sure your products don't appear in discount outlets, even destroying some items you've made to protect the consumer.

We sent a tailor to one client, as we often do, followed him around the world showing him cloths and doing fittings, and didn't have any sale at that point. And then one day he said he was satisfied and put his order in – 50 bespoke suits. And that is from the kind of man who, frankly, really doesn't need any more suits. That says something.

STEFANO RICCI is the founder and designer of the luxury Italian men’s clothing brand of the same name. Established 45 years ago, the company is now run by his sons Niccolo and Filippo. The company recently opened a £5m London flagship store in Mayfair and launched its first collection for boys; stefanoricci.com