Sunlight bathes a small table for two outside Pasticceria Cucchi. But a cool breeze is also blowing, so Carla Sozzani decides to take a seat inside the Milanese pastry shop in the Ticinese neighbourhood. We’re planning to stroll across Milan today, so Sozzani is wearing George Cox lace-up shoes with thick soles. A geometric silver pendant dangles from a long chain over her cashmere jumper – a piece from her partner Kris Ruhs’s jewellery collection. Sozzani orders a cappuccino. “Cucchi’s pastries are legendary,” she says as the waiter places an étagère with cannoli, pasticciotti, cornetti and amaretti on the table.

There’s something natural about seeing Sozzani in Milan. The longtime resident has left her mark on the city. In 1990 she opened 10 Corso Como, a retail space that comprises a bookshop, a gallery, a café-cum-restaurant and an art foundation. “I wanted it to feel like a walk-in magazine,” says Sozzani. It has since spawned outposts in Seoul, Paris and Munich. And though Sozzani sold 10 Corso Como in 2017, she is still the president of her namesake cultural institution, Fondazione Sozzani.

We step out together onto Corso Genova and walk 15 minutes through narrow, shady one-way streets and onto the slightly wider Viale Papiniano to reach the Church of San Francesco d’Assisi al Fopponino, which Gio Ponti designed in 1958. Sozzani lingers outside the modernist building, which offers views of the steel-blue sky through window-like openings on its façade. “When we talk about the work of Gio Ponti, this is my favourite place in Milan,” she says. 

After a stroll through the city, it’s time to hop in a car to Bovisa and we alight in front of a metal gate, where a covered ramp leads to a terrace planted with lush potted and hanging plants. “Come in,” says Sozzani, who leads us through an impressive library into her office, an elongated room with a splendid collection of photographs, drawings, books and artefacts. We take a seat and begin to talk. 

Your new foundation officially opens this spring with a show dedicated to Kris Ruhs. Why did you choose Bovisa?
I have wanted to change the foundation’s location for years. Until recently, it was located at 10 Corso Como with the shop and café. But the neighbourhood has changed. The charm of old Milan, with its craftsmen and small shops, has been lost. I sold 10 Corso Como in 2020 but stayed there for three more years with my foundation and bookshop. Then my partner, Kris Ruhs, found this former tile factory when he was looking for a new studio. Over the course of our 35-year relationship, we have never worked in the same place, so we were excited about the idea. We share the kitchen and garden, and invite friends to see the space.

Your shop has long been regarded as one of the world’s most beautiful. What are your plans for the new location? 
I would like to open a new chapter, with exhibitions, events, lectures, scholarships, courses and special projects. I don’t want to compete with the former bookshop here. We have built a library consisting of books on fashion, photography, design and art. A few steps from the library lies the exhibition archive. I would like to make these places accessible for students. I’m interested in cultural education. We collaborate with five tutors at the foundation and offer scholarships and residencies in fashion and photography. Students can take courses in theory and practice – and we support them
in working experimentally. 

You’ve worked with some of the most important photographers of the late 20th century. Which exhibition do you particularly remember?
The first exhibition that I recall having a crazy reception was by Helmut Newton. The queue went round the block. The police came. At the beginning of the 1990s, our approach was unique in Milan. We showed photographers such as Paolo Roversi, Sarah Moon and Bruce Weber.

Which contemporary photographers do you have your eye on?
So many. Alex Prager, Loretta Lux, Frauke Eigen and Carlo Valsecchi, to name a few.

After 50 years in the business, what drives you?
I don’t see why I should stop. As long as I’m well, I see no reason to.

Your late sister, Franca Sozzani, was the editor in chief of ‘Vogue Italia’. What moulded you both creatively?
My parents often took us to museums and churches. We learned about the old Italian masters at an early age. Italy was divided into many kingdoms, so there were many palaces and places of worship. We grew up surrounded by beauty. This probably fuelled our desire to seek beauty later in life.