Following a star-studded burial service, renowned fashion designer Roberto Cavalli, who passed away last week, was buried in his homeland of Florence. The designer, who is well-known for his vivid designs and colours, chose rather simple funeral arrangements. The only flowers present were on his simple wooden coffin.
Roberto Cavalli’s life was devoted to the cause of outfitting ladies in his colourful, highly ornamental, and elaborate ensembles. For the untrained eye, his distinctive style could be summed up as an amalgamation of unapologetic glamour doused with Italian sensibilities. Flamboyant, blingy, and appealing in its core. And this is coming from a devout Jil Sander and The Row fanatic, by the way.
On November 15, 1940, Roberto Cavalli was born in Florence, a city well-known for its leather goods. He created his own fashion label in 1970, and a year later he developed a novel method of printing on leather. Using patchwork denim, Mr. Cavalli created jackets, pants, and minidresses which were sold at a store in St. Tropez, on the French Riviera.
His next idea was what was what helped with his exponential rise. Back then, stone and sand-washing, bleaching, and shredding denim were not entirely established in the denim arena and therefore, the only ways to distress, and abrade denim at the time were by hard wear and laundering. He put two and two together and the rest is history.
For a collection displayed in the Pitti Palace in 1972, Roberto Cavalli ordered a container of filthy, worn-out jeans from a US prison. He then cleaned and patched the pieces using leather and printed textiles. The materials, which suited the wealthy during the final stages of rock-chick elegance, had been collaged with an eye for art and Italian craft expertise. That’s what set his collections apart and boasted a wide appeal and pandered to a variety of tastes.
Outside of Europe, Roberto Cavalli was essentially unknown for the following twenty years. Subsequently, throughout the 1990s, he brought premium denim back to life by first creating a sandblasted effect and then, in a brilliant move, adding Lycra to jeans to make them fit tighter and more fashionable.
It’s also of note how Gianni Versace had largely taken over the remaining tradition of Italian-inspired sexiness during Cavalli’s years of exile. But after Versace passed away in 1997, Roberto Cavalli was once again at the top of the fashion world. He was in demand on the red carpet, on stage with celebrities like Jennifer Lopez and Beyoncé, and on-screen with Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City, where he wore clothes that suited the theme of excess is success. He also opened boutiques and cafes all over the world.
Fun Fact: He was invited in to revamp the Playboy Bunnies’ revealing outfit in 2005; he even unveiled a leopard print version. The provocative, revealing clothing of Mr. Cavalli was definitely not for the shy. His designs catered to the hedonistic, slightly pretentious and joyful side of fashion.
Images via Getty, Pinterest & MET Museum
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