A winning perfume
There’s more to Roberto Cavalli than his clothes collection
Roberto Cavalli is perhaps known by designer conscious people as a prestigious clothing brand. The history of the man of the same name is an interesting one; there is so much more to the brand and the man than just beautiful outfits. The Roberto Cavalli name has under its belt haute couture, ready to wear lines, different labels for his casual wear, knitwear, young fashions, children’s fashions, children’s shoes, underwear, his eyewear collection, home collection and timewear and most recently a beautiful scent named Serpentine. Roberto Cavalli has also applied his magical touch to his cult status Just Cavalli Caf? and the Cafe’ Giacosa, a restaurant founded in1815, transferred to the heart of the city on Via Tornabuoni in Italy and restored with meticulous attention to detail.
Cavalli was born in Florence in 1940 and was exposed to artistic influences as he grew up. His grandfather was a Florentine painter whose works can still be seen at the Uffizi Museum. His mother was a tailor. He attended the Academy of Art and was capricious, eclectic and original from the outset. While still a student, he invented, with a friend, the first of his revolutionary creations, which was a process of printing on lightweight leather. He had a passion for meticulous research of fabrics and experimenting with new technologies. From very early on he focused on studying the links between art, fashion and painting, eventually patenting the revolutionary process of printing on leather. Over the next ten years he invented the first of his patchworks by sewing together odd pieces of leather. The look became a must for the Beat generation. The seventies brought international recognition and in 1972 he showed his first collection, which caused a scandal with his patchwork on denim designs, which at the time was still considered a workman’s or cowboy fabric. Cavalli refused to conform to preconceived ideas and tenaciously followed his heart and his own ideals, which certainly paid off.
Brigitte Bardot was one of the first stars to wear his creations and since then Cavalli has become part of the Italian and global fashion system without ever forsaking his own inimitable and unique style. His clothes, shoes and accessories are worn by countless celebrities and the jetset, including Sarah Jessica Parker, Madonna, Beyonce, Halle Berry, Enrique Iglesias and Ivana Trump.
Roberto Cavalli boutiques and prestigious outlets (including one in Harrods) span the globe from New York all the way across to Seoul.
Fragrance is the most recent addition to his fascinating empire. The name he chose for it, SERPENTINE, was, as one would expect from such an artist, not randomly picked by PR gurus, but has behind it a strong meaning for Cavalli. He quotes; “For me the snake is a very symbolic animal. It has accompanied me in all phases of my creativity and has always helped me to have success.” Indeed the fragrance is constructed around the Mango Flower, which in a Brazilian legend offers nectar with aphrodisiac qualities and invites the serpent to taste it until it reaches a state of euphoria.
This fragrance is certainly beautiful. As soon as I tried it what came to mind was a very elegant and tastefully dressed lady, possibly in evening or late afternoon attire, attending some black tie event. It may conjure up a different image for you. This fragrance has a lot of class and achieves elegance, sophistication and understated sensuality without being at all heavy. A winner.
