Roberto Cavalli did without the usual celebrity contingent and complimentary Prosecco at his show, but he didn't cut down on his set-decorating budget. Milan's military academy had been transformed into an Andean ski lodge, complete with fur throws, "ethnic" rugs, antlers galore, a wood-planked runway, and -for good measure- a couple of fake Old Masters. Was Cavalli about to take us on an unexpected detour into the cinematic world of Ralph Lauren ? Yeah, Ralph on peyote. Navajo prints, a Ralph Lauren staple, appeared on everything from blanket coats to pants to rubber-soled slip-ons. But they mingled uneasily with more familiar Cavalli motifs : the crystal-studded shirts, and the suedes and velvets that had been worked to look like crocodile (even here there was an acknowledgment that real reptile would be a bit much this season).
This was the tenth anniversary of Cavalli's menswear, and the designer talked of revisiting his roots. That meant less of the tailoring he's played up the last couple of seasons. So where did the loafers fit in ? We're talking about the kind of low-vamp tasseled numbers that were once as much a staple of middle-class American life as comb-overs, sclerotic arteries, and alimony. Cavalli was reportedly in talks to sell a minority stake in his company to an investment fund, so perhaps was he spending time with some white-shoe law firms of late. It would take a sharp legal mind to explain quite what he had in mind with this collection. Do you think I should give a "Worst Collection Award" at the end of the season ?
This was the tenth anniversary of Cavalli's menswear, and the designer talked of revisiting his roots. That meant less of the tailoring he's played up the last couple of seasons. So where did the loafers fit in ? We're talking about the kind of low-vamp tasseled numbers that were once as much a staple of middle-class American life as comb-overs, sclerotic arteries, and alimony. Cavalli was reportedly in talks to sell a minority stake in his company to an investment fund, so perhaps was he spending time with some white-shoe law firms of late. It would take a sharp legal mind to explain quite what he had in mind with this collection. Do you think I should give a "Worst Collection Award" at the end of the season ?
