The First Step of the Explorer
The First Step of the Explorer
Terry D. Garcia, CEO of Exploration Ventures
As National Geographic’s Chief Science and Exploration Officer, I led the organization’s global exploration enterprise for almost two decades. During that period, I encountered many wondrous things and extraordinary people. And so it was in the Spring of 2008, I was working in Florence on an assignment for National Geographic. My team and I were searching for Leonardo Da Vinci’s “lost“ fresco, The Battle of Anghiari, thought to be hidden in the Palazzo Vecchio. Gianluca Tenti, National Geographic’s representative in Florence, to my great good fortune introduced me to his friend Stefano and his sons Niccolò and Filippo. Our shared love of history, nature, travel, and adventure, of course, the city of Florence has led to an enduring friendship. A few years after our first meeting, I had the privilege of attending the STEFANO RICCI 40th Anniversary Fashion Show inside the Uffizi Gallery, and our relationship deepened further.
So, when Filippo and Gianluca first described their plans for the Stefano Ricci Explorer project and asked me to work with them, I was thrilled and agreed on the spot. I am passionate about exploration, and an exploration theme seemed a natural fit for the brand. Moreover, the opportunity to share the most beautiful places in the world with an influential audience was irresistible for me. A project such as this requires a great photographer. I immediately thought of my long time friend, Chris Rainier, a widely acclaimed photographer and Ansel Adams’ last photographic assistant. Chris has created a remarkable body of work featuring extraordinary landscapes and individuals. When I asked for his help with the Exploration Project, his immediate response was an enthusiastic “count me in”. But what does exploration have to do with fashion and business? The early 20th-century polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton said that an explorer must possess four qualities: optimism, patience, idealism, and courage. Successful businesses and the men and women who lead them like explorers must have the ability to respond to constantly changing circumstances. The rapid changes buffeting our world today require business leaders and explorers alike to be nimble, flexible, and to possess the courage to reevaluate old assumptions and redefine success. A successful explorer pushes the boundaries of the known and oftentimes must change course mid-stream, trying new, unexplored ways forward.
The STEFANO RICCI company is constantly pushing the boundaries of orthodoxy and finding new, untested ways of using resources and doing business. And what is an explorer, if not a bold risk-taker? It’s that urge to go beyond; to think differently; to find another route up the mountain or through the wilderness. An explorer has the ability to see and imagine what others do not and to take risks from which others shy away. That’s why the qualities of an explorer are found in so many of the individuals who lead the world’s most successful companies. That’s why Stefano Ricci’s embrace of exploration is a natural extension of his business. It’s also true, like the many explorers, photographers, and writers who passed through my office on the way into the field, Filippo has come away from his many travels inspired and changed. The natural beauty of the many destinations visited has been a constant source of inspiration. The colors in nature observed on the family’s many and extended trips are clearly reflected in the company’ designs. And importantly, respect for nature and culture is synonymous with this brand. But along with the many wondrous things they have found in their travels, they have found something else. Our planet is undergoing extraordinary change. Not all of it for the good. Many of the planet’s natural wonders are slipping away. Climates are changing. Cultures are at risk. Habitats are shrinking. Species are threatened. In the face of these challenges, the embrace of the explorer ethos and the launch of the Stefano Ricci Explorer project by an industry leader such as this, is an example to others and a cause for optimism and celebration. For you see, I know from my years of experience that exploration has the power to inspire and change the world.
If we are to preserve what is truly important, the natural and cultural legacy of this planet, we must all be the explorers of the 21st century. Through our shared journeys we will come to better understand our planet. With understanding comes caring, and with caring comes change. We can each play a role in creating a better future for this planet. It’s a goal that transcends borders and industries and companies - and it’s a goal that we must take on together, today. We invite you to join us as we explore… Consequently, we are narrating through images a present future. Cultivating the memory of the Temple of Artemis in Turkey, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Great Pyramid of Cheops, the statue of Zeus which dominated Olympia, the Colossus of Rhodes, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus and the Lighthouse of Alexandria. Places of classical mythology, which since the year 2000, according to experts, have been reflected as well in Petra, the Great Wall, the Colosseum, Machu Picchu, the Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Chichén Itzá and the legendary Taj Mahal. Like Stefano Ricci, we will try to represent the wonders that inspire us the most through limited edition lookbooks. In truth, travel, discovery and the love for nature are values that, along with my brother Niccolò, we learned from our parents Stefano and Claudia sitting around a fire in the heart of Africa, contemplating the starry sky and breathing for what felt like forever. It is something found within our DNA. Here is a new cycle destined to be reborn, like any search for perfection. We will never stop exploring. As Thomas Eliot wrote, “And the end of all our exploring, Will be to arrive where we started. And know the place for the first time”.