Roberto Cavalli Company History.

 

Cavalli followed in his creative footsteps when he chose to specialise in the textile applications of paint. His first creations, floral motifs on knitwear were a huge success and caught the attention of the major Italian hosiery industries.

Always a very original and innovative man, Cavalli continually experimented with new technologies to create his materials, culminating in his invention and patent of a revolutionary printing procedure on leather. This discovery enabled him to create his first patchworks, which he brought to Paris whereupon Hermès and Pierre Cardin were amongst his first clients.

By the age of thirty, Cavalli presented his first collection bearing his name at the Salon for Prêt-à-Porter, which led to his taking part in the official presentation of the collections at the Pitti Palace in Florence, swiftly followed by a catwalk show in Milan. On the catwalk his style and flair were evident, with leather patchwork and prints on denim and ornate decorations using precious metals in brocades, python, zebra and leopard prints.

So began his attraction for animal prints that today has become his brand signature. Appreciated by the most fashionable jet set, a young Brigitte Bardot wondered barefooted in Saint.Tropez, where the fashion designer opened his first boutique in ’72, wearing his sparkling and sumptuous creations.

What had been a fad became a trend and eventually a cult, as the Cavalli way of dressing transcended almost into a way of being. From the Hollywood stars to the customers who bought his clothes in the shops, the Roberto Cavalli style was and still is instantly recognisable. The style, which is slightly dramatic and theatrical whilst immensely flattering of the female form, consistently utilises the latest technologies to create patterns and a palette of vibrant colours, which are always being renewed. In a sharp series of oppositions a particular harmony is formed as an inter-play of varying excesses takes place, opposing one to another as extremes balance out each other.

In September 1994, Cavalli presented his new jeans collection in Milan. Already by December of the same year, a boutique had been opened in Saint Barth in the French Caribbean, followed by one in Venice and another in Saint. Tropez. A diffusion line - Just Cavalli was founded in 1998 and further to this came RC Menswear, Angels and Devils - a line of children clothing, Class for knitwear, Freedom for casual, two underwear collections, one beachwear, shoes, eyewear, watches, perfumes and an interior design line for the home.

Privately, Cavalli loves nature and to be surrounded by animals in his villa on the hills surrounding Florence where he still lives with his wife, Eva Duringer, the former Miss Universe and their three children. Married in 1980, Eva was very involved in the business then and is to this day. The family spend summers on their 41 metre yacht and Cavalli is also an avid pilot who is very fond of his personal helicopter, an Ecureuil.

Cavalli is a man who loves challenges, in 2002 he inaugurated the opening of his cafè boutique in Florence, the Giacosa Cafè, personalising it with his animal prints but retaining the essence of what has always been considered one of the city’s most historic tea-houses. A feat followed even in Milan with the Just Cavalli cafè of Torre Branca and another in Via Spiga.

Cavalli is also able to spot talent and style in others and has built rewarding relationships with some of modern society’s most avidly followed, worldwide stars, from Lenny Kravitz and Britney Spears to Alicia Keyes, Jennifer Lopez and Beyoncè Knowles – all whom frequently wear Roberto Cavalli and are true testament to his enduring and burgeoning success.