Roberto Cavalli: biography of the Italian designer, today on Fashionaut!
Roberto Cavalli is one of the stylists who raised the name of Italian fashion in the world and is a man who built a company on a difficult and intense life. A difficult childhood, a heavy artistic family inheritance, a particular intuition that led him to see fashion with totally new eyes. His activity is frenetic and not without shadows and scandals, yet the brand he created is a guarantee and a value that everyone is still looking for today .
Our post today wants to retrace the life and professional steps of one of the greatest Italian stylists still in circulation. Welcome back to Fashionaut!
Roberto Cavalli, art in the blood
Roberto Cavalli was born on November 15, 1940 in Florence . He was orphaned when he was only 4 years old: his father was killed by the Wehrmacht in 1944 in the village of Cavriglia, and he grew up with the care of his mother and grandparents. His maternal grandfather, Giuseppe Rossi, was a famous Macchiaiolo painter and many of his works are still part of the Uffizi heritage today.
The nose for beauty therefore flows in the blood of the young Roberto, who in fact studies art but specializes in “textile applications” of painting . He spent his youth experimenting and at the age of 30 his ideas were noticed by designers such as Cardin and Hermes.
The Roberto Cavalli company
In particular, his “patchwork” fashion, his unique ideas for young fashion, made it possible that in 1970 at the Salon du Pret-a-Porter in Paris he presented the first collection bearing his name, and in 1972 he opened his very first boutique in Saint Tropez, then a destination for tourists and VIPs in search of the latest fashion trends . In the same period he brought his first jeans creations onto the catwalk at the Pitti Palace and then at Milano Collezioni, which over time became his trademark. In fact, the first printed denim jeans began to be launched on the market by the Italian designer, made with leather inlays, brocades and animal prints.
The first success is accompanied by a marriage and the birth of the children Tommaso and Cristiana, but shortly after the couple falls apart. His second wife, Maria Duringer (who finished second in Miss Universe in 1978), will become a collaborator and companion of inspiration for the next phase of Cavalli’s career. Among various interests, the couple produces a sporty and youthful fashion that became popular in the nineties. In particular, the “torn jeans”, which however are aged with a dangerous hot sand technique, which was also the subject of discussions and scandals.
In 1998 Roberto Cavalli is present in 36 countries around the world and the company is now a brand of undisputed value. In 2000 a new adventure began in the production of accessories: eyewear, shoes, watches and perfumes complete the clothing sector, with the launch of his Just Cavalli brand, a youth line, which immediately met with great success. Alongside this we also mention the RC Menswear collection.
Roberto Cavalli today
Today the Roberto Cavalli company no longer belongs to the designer , who first sells his company to the Clessidra fund, which, however, in November 2019 in turn transfers it to the Dubai billionaire, Hussain Sajwani and his Vision Investments. Gradually what was an all-Italian reality dedicated to craftsmanship disappears, also giving rise to many protests from its employees. The entrepreneur, owner of the brand today, starts a project aimed at creating, among other things, a series of luxury hotels, one of which will be built in Dubai.
Returning to the maison, it is still experimenting with brilliant ideas for modern, glamorous and often luxury fashion . The distinctive sign of the brand are the prints, in particular the animalier – the reference to the designs of animal furs – which in 2019 is strongly back in fashion and therefore today has relaunched its style.
Other winning ideas of the brand are patchworks, leather works, jeans . As for the expansion of the company, today there are several brands that belong to Cavalli. Just remember: Class, Just Cavalli, RC Sport which carries on the second family passion. In fact, sport and sportswear are important for this maison, in particular the passion for the world of horse riding which seems almost to joke with the designer’s name.
Over the years they have been testimonials of the Cavalli brand, among others: Shakira, Sophia Loren, Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Rita Ora, Lenny Kravitz, David Beckham, Jessica Stam, Eva Riccobono, Laetitia Casta, Natasha Poly, Mariacarla Boscono, Karen Elson, Karolina Kurkova.
Our post dedicated to the famous Italian designer, Roberto Cavalli, ends here. See you next time with our insights dedicated to the world of fashion and its main protagonists.