Legendary Italian fashion designer Roberto Cavalli, who revolutionized animal prints and denim in the fashion world, passed away at the age of 83.
His company made the announcement on Instagram.
Dear Roberto, you may not be physically here with us anymore, but I know I will feel your spirit with me always," wrote Fausto Puglisi, creative director at Roberto Cavalli since October 2020.
Cavalli was reportedly battling an undisclosed illness for some time.
Known for his seductive looks and maximalist style, Roberto Cavalli’s wild use of materials has made him the go-to of many celebrities such as Beyoncé and Jennifer Lopez, as he introduced trends that have changed the world of fashion through various eras. His work has also seen a resurgence today with the revival of Y2K aesthetics, his archival looks worn by the likes of Zendaya.
Ahead, 10 things you need to know about the famous Roberto Cavalli:
1. Roberto Cavalli was born on November 15 1940 in Florence, Italy.
His father was a famous Impressionist painter and was a famous member of an anti-fascist movement, which later cost his life. His mother was a seamstress.
2. He went to art school and intended to become an artist.
Artistic talent ran in the family blood and Roberto Cavalli chose to attend the Academy of Art in Florence. In 1957, however, he decided to shift from being a painter to working in textiles.
3. His work with textiles led him to the world of fashion.
Roberto sought to apply painterly techniques to textiles in ways that had not been done before. While in art school, he became friends with another student whose family owned an apparel factory, and invited him to work on some T-shirt prints. Business grew from one printing unit and a single helper to a factory of 30 workers.
4. Roberto Cavalli has been married twice.
Roberto married his first wife, Silvanella Giannoni, in 1964. In 1980, Cavalli married Eva Düringer, a former beauty queen who became his frequent co-collaborator, and later became the co-creative director of the Cavalli brands. His last partner was Sandra Nilsson, a Swedish model 45 years his junior. They had been together since 2014.
5. He invented and patented his own leather printing process.
He was the first to print patterns on suede and leather, a revolutionary technique that he showcased in his debut collection in Paris in 1970 — winning over Hermès and Pierre Cardin as prized clients.
6. He opened his own boutique in Saint-Tropez in 1972.
Roberto designed upscale hippie pieces such as jackets, jeans, and mini dresses from patchwork denim and sold them in a boutique called Limbo in Saint-Tropez on the French Riviera, worn by actress such as Brigitte Bardot and Sophia Loren.
7. He changed jeans as we know them in the 1990s.
Roberto's design career took on a second wind in the 1990s as a denim pioneer. He invented and introduced sandblasted jeans in his autumn/winter 1994 collection, and worked with Lycra to popularize stretch jeans in 1995.
8. He worked on a Playboy costume redesign in 2005.
Playboy did its first costume redesign in 25 years with the help of Roberto, who added an external corset and elongated the bunny ears. Playboy CEO Christie Hefner said that Roberto “embraces the good life, inspires an aspirational lifestyle for a jet-set crowd and of course celebrates beautiful women.”
9. He was once charged with tax evasion.
The designer was tried for tax evasion in 2003 and convicted three years later, receiving a 14-month suspended sentence. He was eventually cleared of the charges in 2010.
10. He has collaborated with mass and high-street brands.
In 2007, Roberto did his first high-street collaboration with H&M. He also launched his second high-street line in 2012 with Australian Target.
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