By Marie-Louise Gumuchian
LONDON (Reuters) – Roberto Cavalli launched a “disruptive” capsule collection outside the traditional catwalk calendar on Thursday as the Italian fashion label seeks to rebrand itself after a few shaky years.
Designer Fausto Puglisi looked to a 1994 print drawn by the brand’s founder Roberto Cavalli, itself inspired by a rococo depiction of the Greek myth of Leda and the swan, for the “Wild Leda” line, on show at London’s Selfridges department store.
Previously seen in the fashion house’s spring-summer 2023 line, the depiction, matched with animals prints, features on floaty dresses, beachwear, accessories and homeware.
“So rather than saying ok let’s have the ritual of September fashion week and all the trimmings… how do we twist that, how do we give a better understanding of what the brand stands for… and therefore do something that is, in a way, disruptive,” Chief Executive Sergio Azzolari told Reuters.
“Roberto Cavalli was always famous for obviously the gowns but… he created really a lifestyle… So you have your plates, you have your coffee cups, you have your shoes, you have your bag, you have everything…. (we thought) let’s do something that is a bit larger and invites you to discover the world of Roberto Cavalli.”
The label, founded by designer Roberto Cavalli in the early 1970s and known for its animal prints, is owned by Dubai’s Damac Properties founder Hussain Sajwani, who rescued the Florence-based group in 2019 through his private investment company Vision Investments.
The fashion house had been struggling for years to relaunch its sales.
Azzolari joined in April.
“We are really in the midst of recreating a brand that was the epitome of luxury over the last 50 years,” he said, adding he was looking to do things “very respectful to the past but bring the brand in another dimension with a different… point of view.”
“We’ll relaunch the website… we’re working on expanding quite a bit on retail, we’re opening a couple of new stores in the U.S., we’re looking at London to have a stronger presence… we’re looking at revamping our flagship in Milan.”
(Reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Ros Russell)
