My personal style signifier is a raw emerald that my dad [the late jewellery designer and goldsmith Umberto Icardi] gave to my mother as an engagement ring. I always wear it – it’s now on a pendant that I designed for my first jewellery collection in 2020 – with all the other bling bling I wear on and off. My jewellery changes depending on my mood but the emerald is significant because my father gave it to me. He also gave me some pearls from which I hang all my pendants: an astronaut, a safety pin and a key – my memory lane. They don’t have specific themes, they are just objets trouvés that I find and want to hang on my neck.
The last thing I bought and loved was a pair of tailored trousers that I found in Florence – I can’t remember where. They’re from the 1980s, when I grew up. It’s nostalgic to find clothing that I used to wear when I was a teenager. I buy a lot of vintage — the constant research and collecting is part of my job. I love to squirrel around little shops. It makes me very happy. Even in the most remote place, I have the power to find something.
Her Umberto pearl necklace, with various Ilaria Icardi pendants hanging from it © Sean Thomas
The places that mean a lot to me are Milan, Paris and London. Milan is where I grew up and where my memories of the ’90s are – it was bubbling and fun. Then when I go back to Paris, where I moved in 2000, I have an enormous sense of happiness because it was a decade of nice things – fashion was so extravagant then. It was also the beginning of my career as a designer; first for Saint Laurent and later for Celine under Phoebe Philo. London also feels like home because it’s where my daughter was born, and I spent seven years there working at Victoria Beckham. After that I moved back to Milan to work for Bottega Veneta. As well as running my namesake brand, I’m currently director of ready-to-wear for women at Prada. I feel like a true European.
