Roberto Cavalli has clad celebrities in high-octane style for many years. Now, the home is re-interpreting attractive for in the present day

When you’re a millennial who grew up on a weight-reduction plan of BlackBerry Messenger, tabloid movie star information (always remember Paris Hilton, Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan crammed into Hilton’s Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren), and elegance icons who donned Von Dutch trucker hats and Alexander McQueen cranium scarves, you might also keep in mind Roberto Cavalli.

In the course of the aughts, the Italian dressmaker was a purple carpet mainstay, dressing everybody from newly solo Beyoncé and “Dirrty”-era Christina Aguilera to Kate Moss and Jennifer Lopez in eye-catching, figure-hugging ensembles that epitomized the last decade’s look-at-me extra. From the time he based his eponymous model in 1972 till his retirement in 2014, Cavalli delivered a panoply of tiger stripes, giraffe spots, butterfly wings, chiffon wisps, sequins, glitter, glitz and glam. His aesthetic was in the identical over-the-top vein of Versace and Dolce & Gabbana, nevertheless it got here with a smokier, sultrier air of indulgence.

Beyonce wore a gilded Roberto Cavalli quantity on the Brit Awards in 2004. Credit score: Steve Finn/Getty Photographs

Nowadays, nevertheless, the Roberto Cavalli model has returned to the scene with a barely completely different power due to the appointment of Sicilian-born designer Fausto Puglisi.

Puglisi took over as lead artistic marketing consultant in October 2020, after the home had gone a 12 months with out a designer on the helm (prior administrators moreover the namesake included Peter Dundas and Paul Surridge). At that time, Puglisi had lengthy loved reputation along with his personal self-named line, which, since 2010, had obtained international renown for its sporty-yet-extravagant Italianate aesthetic and movie star following. (Nicki Minaj and M.I.A. wore Fausto Puglisi whereas performing with Madonna on the 2012 Tremendous Bowl.)

Christina Aguilera pictured in a cherry-red Roberto Cavalli leather-based mini-dress on the VH1 Massive In 2002 Awards. Credit score: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Photographs

But, the place the Roberto Cavalli look of yesteryear was perpetually party-ready, dripping in nature motifs and infrequently barely-there (see Victoria Beckham on the Swarovski Trend Rocks gala in Monaco circa 2005), Puglisi is seeking to steer the label towards extra modern sensibilities. For his Spring-Summer season 2022 assortment, introduced at Milan Trend Week on Wednesday, this imaginative and prescient manifested through bejeweled Birkenstocks, and separates like leisurewear bodysuits, palazzo pants and hoodies, among the many de facto Cavalli loudness — and loucheness.

The storied style home appeared to construct consolation into their newest menswear line. Credit score: Monica Feudi

“I believe the idea earlier than was that everyone needed to be a goddess,” Puglisi stated over Zoom from Milan a couple of days earlier than his catwalk present. “For me, I am much less concerning the glamazon and extra a few democratic strategy to the wardrobe, whereas nonetheless retaining the model’s spirit of enjoyable.”

For the model’s menswear line, he is taking an identical strategy, eschewing the previous “Saint-Tropez playboy” aesthetic for one thing extra relatable. “It isn’t the second of a playboy; it is the second of a way more inclusive and expansive dream,” he stated.

The Italian home used the archives as a place to begin for the brand new assortment whereas additionally seeking to modernize the more-is-more aesthetic. Credit score: Monica Feudi

In terms of Hollywood, Puglisi’s Cavalli has shortly develop into a star favourite. Jennifer Lopez wore a sharp-shouldered canary yellow costume with crystal-encrusted leopard brooches for a World Residents live performance in Could. The next month, Megan Thee Stallion sported a customized feather-trimmed robe with a excessive slit to the BET Awards. Puglisi has additionally created a customized search for Kim Kardashian (Kardashian can also be a noteworthy fan of throwback Cavalli).

On the present in Milan on Wednesday, mannequin Amelia Grey Hamlin (actor and actuality TV star Lisa Rinna’s daughter) and “Veneno” star Daniela Santiago sat entrance row. Trend’s strongest determine, Anna Wintour, was there, too.

One other look from Roberto Cavalli’s Spring-Summer season 2021 assortment unveiled throughout Milan Trend Week. Credit score: Monica Feudi

However Puglisi is not apprehensive; in actual fact, he is right here for all of it. “I by no means imagined the requests we’re getting,” he stated. “I’ve an infinite quantity of gratitude for the people who find themselves supporting not solely me, but additionally the model, and all the high-profile people on the market who’re sporting it.”

Olivia Rodrigo wore an archival Roberto Cavalli costume within the music video for her monitor “Brutal” — now watched on YouTube over 21 million instances since its launch in August. Credit score: Olivia Rodrigo/YouTube

Whereas purple carpet type will at all times be sexier and extra eye-catching than on a regular basis items, it is with these wearable choices that Puglisi flexes his knack for melding the Roberto Cavalli legacy along with his personal understanding of the present second, skillfully easing the model into the long run.

“Many individuals won’t know this, however when Roberto was beginning, he used to print and paint denim himself in Florence. He clearly went on to nice success, but it began in a humble manner,” Puglisi stated. “I believe the democratization I need to construct (ties that each one collectively)… You may have this glamour and this high-impact look, however it might nonetheless be rooted in one thing extra common. So, going forward, I need to be the king of frocks, sure, but additionally the king of day-to-day denims and tees.”

However do not count on an excessive amount of of a shift, although. With a smile, Puglisi promised: “I’ll by no means be a minimalist designer.”

Prime picture: Victoria Beckham in Roberto Cavalli in 2005.