MILAN — It’s not surprising that Sara Ferrero and Susanna Cucco dubbed their fall collection for Sa Su Phi “The Architecture of Femininity.”
Proportions, purpose, functionality and structure are all pillars of their designs, and each piece is a wardrobe builder aligned with the vision of the brand that Ferrero and Cucco first launched for fall 2022. The title also underscores the relationship between the brand and the world of architecture, said Ferrero, and in particular Milanese architecture.
The former Valextra and Joseph executives named the collection after their initials and the Greek letter phi, generally used as the mathematical concept of the Golden Ratio — conveying the idea that it represents perfect beauty. Phonetically, Sa Su Phi sounds like ça suffit, or “it’s enough” in French.
You May Also Like
In an interview at their luminous showroom in a stately central palazzo in Milan and ahead of their second fashion show on Friday, Ferrero and Cucco embody their target customer, as they have a very specific style, fine-tuned over the years — comfortable, practical, very Milanese chic.
The brand has quickly garnered international attention and is enjoying a dose of additional visibility thanks to Meryl Streep playing Miranda Priestly in the sequel of “The Devil Wears Prada.” While the film has not premiered yet, images of Streep wearing Sa Su Phi’s gray suit and a camel coat have been circulating and spread online. “She is a woman in charge, with a strong personality that is not hidden behind the clothes,” said Ferrero of the fictional character — and of the brand’s potential customers.
The U.S. region is Sa Su Phi’s main market, and among the 100 international points of sale that carry the brand, Ferrero listed A’maree’s in Newport Beach; The Conservatory in Dallas; Peoples in Atlanta; Elyse Walker in New York City; Bergdorf Goodman, and Article in San Francisco, among others. “They are like our ambassadors,” said Ferrero of the stores. In Canada, the brand is available at TNT in Toronto and Boboli Vancouver, for example. Japan, Korea, Germany and Italy are also strong markets for the brand, she said.
“Over the last two seasons, we’ve doubled our business with specialty stores. They need an alternative to luxury brands,” continued Ferrero, declining to provide sales figures.
The fall 2026 show will take place at Milan’s Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, chosen because “it’s a center of culture, and Inge [Feltrinelli, the German-born photographer and director] ran a center of culture [the Feltrinelli publishing house]. She is a woman who created culture,” hence an inspiration, said Cucco.
For fall, Sa Su Phi is launching its first shoe, designed with Diego Dolcini, and serendipitously inspired by Herzog & De Meuron. Seasonless, in leather and silk, it comes with wool spats that turn the pump into a boot.
“We felt it was time to have a Sa Su Phi shoe. It’s a response to our needs, the shoe completes the looks and changes the attitude,” said Cucco.
With Dolcini’s and Gait-Tech’s patented device integrated into the insole of the shoes during the manufacturing stage, the comfort and stability are enhanced, she said. The name of the shoe is Phi and it is made in Italy’s footwear manufacturing hub Riviera del Brenta.
“Italian craftsmanship is essential to the brand,” said Ferrero. Also, Sa Su Phi is rooted and closely linked to Milan. “Milan is a city of creatives, editors, architects, thinkers and quiet radicals,” said Ferrero. “At Sa Su Phi, we are women who are unmistakably ourselves. We call us ‘the Tender Radical.’ Our identity is layered: intellectual, intuitive, quietly powerful, strong but also fragile. Our women friends live the brand with their own personality and the brand emphasizes their personality. The clothes should be pleasing and bring a smile,” she added.
“We design from the inside out: starting with how a fabric feels on the skin, how it moves with the body, how it supports the woman throughout her day,” Cucco explained. “Materials are selected not only for their beauty, but for their capacity to create confidence and presence.”
She said “cozy and soft” knitwear continues to be a cornerstone of the brand, as is bold color, from red, yellow and green to soft pinks, ivory and a Milanese palette of grays, navy, black, burgundy and camel, but there will be accents of mint, light blue, or orange red, in unusual combinations.
Shapes follow the body without constraint, and architectural yet soft, tailored suits come in deconstructed cashmere and wool or silk. There will be silk dresses and shirts — another pillar of the brand. “There is no division between day and night,” said Cucco. Duchesse, twill and double satin will add luminosity and fluid movement to the structure of the pieces.
