Lemons, limes and snakes compete for glory in the latest Roberto Cavalli Resort collection, which riffs on the opening season of cult series Wild Lotus, and was revealed this Tuesday.
All was seen in 2024 Resort collection that is a blend of designer Fausto Puglisi’s south Italian DNA, Hawaiian fauna, razor sharp tailoring and easy-to-wear evening dressing.
“It’s rock n roll hippie chic, Ibiza and even a Mexico vibe. What I love in Cavalli. In a sense, there is no inspiration. Because when I design a collection, I think of different women. Like when a director makes a movie it is based on characters – like an 18-year-old girl or an 80-year-old grandmother, a detective, a killer or a whore. All different but created by one sensitivity directing different characters,” enthused Cavalli in a zoom from his Milan atelier.
A Cavalli cruise collection which opens with dynamic separates for a gutsy gal’s wardrobe like huge taffeta skirts in wild big cat prints.
“Romantic yes, but also great for around a fire in Arizona!” chuckles Fausto.
Lots of black and white, and multiple silhouettes with transparency – often made in cotton lace, which Puglisi prefers to silk lace, as it is for evening, while cotton lace works all day long. Though the heart of this unisex collection is a quartet of prints, the key print features lemons, limes and snakes in green and white, and was pulled from the house’s archives. Guys and girls wear variations of the same print in multiple looks.
Fausto ensured the fabric has a dynamic spring, by creating romantic yet sexy visions – a Lycra body that morphs into a cotton flouncy dress, finished with a ruffled trim in a black negative version of the print. Models also wore dashing trenchs in the same print; giant taffeta dresses in floaty shapes; or statement caftan dresses. While guys wore bold clubbing shirts; and great shirts in contrasting classic stripes, overdone on one shoulder with the print.
Lingerie dresses, “a key part of the DNA of Cavalli,” the designer noted, came floor length. While power suits were made in novel tweed blends of silk, cotton and raffia.
Fausto looked to the Wild West as well, with masterly sleek leather pant suits and bomber jackets finished with saddle stitching – all made in Four Corners desert hues. Finished with a dash of Sicilian coral from Trapani in a great series of belts.
His White Lotus homage referred to the first series, set in Hawaii – with a marvelous mash up print of leopards, snakes, tropical flowers and palms in some head-turning dresses; saucy column dresses and strong looks with jeans, a strong growth area at Cavalli.
A third key print blended Cavalli camouflage and tropical fauna – seen in bell bottom jeans, a sartorial jacket and matching blouse; and a lingerie dress.
“It is in the same spirit as the look Michelle Obama wore on TV last month,” smiled Fausto, referring to a similar landscape-patterned denim shirt and matching pants the former First Lady wore in April when she appeared on the Drew Barrymore show.
Elsewhere, it being an Italian house, there were strong tailoring statement looks for men – including a sartorial rocker undertaker – and for women, some thoroughly chic beige window-pane power suits.
His final print was an easy to wear but joyous and bucolic saucy sailor in paradise pattern used in silk jersey columns in a collection of some 60 looks.
Roberto Cavalli is owned by Dubai’s Damac Properties founder, Emirati billionaire Hussain Sajwani, who rescued the Florence-based group in 2019 through his private investment company Vision Investments. Sajwani’s group has also built the Versace-designed Damac Tower in the booming Nine Elms district in London, and last year acquired jeweler De Grisogono.
Next, Puglisi is off to London, where next week he will fete a new Cavalli concept store inside Selfridges, the city’s most influential department store, and arguably the world leader today. It will feature Cavalli looks for one month in multiple windows, kicking off the four-week stay with a dinner inside the store’s Brasserie of Light with its 24-foot-tall crystal-encrusted flying Pegasus by Damien Hirst.
Fausto will also be busy in June in Florence during Pitti. Where he will be one of several score of colleagues whose creations will feature in a giant multi-designer runway show by the city’s key boutique, LuisaViaRoma, styled by UK Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful.
“They have asked for three looks, and it will be cool to see them in Florence. It’s nice to be seen in the hometown of our brand,” enthused Fausto.
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