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Roberto
Cavalli's pelts and plumes
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In
a patchwork of skins and pelts, luxury is the keyword
to this season's look. He may be over-the-top but
he's certainly not over the hill.
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 Heralded
as "the new Versace", Roberto Cavalli has joined
the ranks of Italy's fashion elite. An eclectic
explorer and over-the-top eccentric, Cavalli
has won his way into the hearts of jungle bunnies
the world over, colonising catwalks with his exotic
tropical style.
His zebra print cushions and rugs, snake-skin accessories
and gloriously equine models all underline a look
that is essentially a collection of dead animals.
Cavalli, on the other hand, is alive and kicking,
even though he had threatened to give it all up
only five years ago. Luckily he had second thoughts
and is now the toast of the fashion world, being
labelled as a "cult stylist" by the fashion bible
'Vogue America'.
 Cavalli
was born in Florence almost 60 years ago. His grandfather
was a well-known painter and student of Giovanni
Fattori. Cavalli, in turn, paints his ideal
woman, swathed in gloriously low-cut backless
skin-tight black leather, whose sinuous heels
perch on 6-inch stilettos, a return to the
hedonistic high-life of the eighties. Cavalli's
lifestyle speaks for itself with paparazzi
shots capturing him relaxing in his Jacuzzi on board
his yacht, wrapped in leopard-print sheets or snuggled
into a wolf-skin jacket.
Celebrities vie for invites to his parties,
which are non-other than well-disguised marketing
manoeuvres. Investments of an estimated 50 million
Italian lira each. After all, how much does
a full-page spread in the top fashion glossies cost?
 A
definite case of so far so good for the new Versace.
Cavalli has upped production with a new diffusion
line, a lingerie collection, sunglasses, watches
and even a customised motorbike. Oscar Wilde wisely
said that man can resist everything, except temptation
and Cavalli certainly couldn't resist the temptation
of covering his Ducati Monster with a patchwork
of pelts. Seeing is believing, so hurry along to
his store in Milan's Via della Spiga and
view it, close-up.
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| by
ELENA
GUARNERI |
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March
2001
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THE SURVIVOR'S 
