Prior to launching her own label in 2007, Sargenti spent 2 years as assistant to Antonio Marras, then joined anti-establishment design collective, Carpe Diem, under whose wing she helped innovate a highly conceptual line of clothes that became known as Linea project. Driven by this same scientific approach, which privileges deconstruction over decoration, she produced her own series of interchangeable, no-season separates and called it “S+M+L Project”. Winning Milan’s White Inside Award for 2007, the young designer took this idea for sartorial projects and grew it not only into a brand –– but a whole new way of presenting clothes within an industry blindly clinging to its traditions.

Between sips of merlot, we discuss the five projects, which include: Coating, J², T-Shirt, Suole, and of course, S+M+L. As the largest, S+M+L reinvents the traditional suit. The title is as much a play on words as it is on proportion, because the letters actually correspond to three different silhouettes, not sizes. Each garment, thus, is offered in three different volumes, which can all be mixed & matched. S_ is form-fitting: seams rotate around the body, lending stretch; M_ is a midway fit between slim & loose: seams get placed toward the front and follow the lines of the body; L_ is loose: seams move out to the sides, extending a garment’s width. Slouchy trousers can be paired with a lean jacket one day, slim-cut pants under an oversized blazer the next . . . the combination of looks a person can create/alternate seems limitless. Curious about how the forward-thinking designer dressed growing up, I decide to ask. “Strangely”, she replies. “I was mixing a lot of everything” (surprise, surprise).