 Born in Florence on
November 15, 1940, Roberto
Cavalli grew up
in a very artistic environment. His grandfather was an illustrious painter
of the Tuscan "macchiaiolo" movement. Following family tradition,
Roberto attended the renowned Florence Art Academy. Fanciful, eclectic and
inventive, he soon took an interest in the relationship between fashion and
painting, experimenting with new technologies and initiating research on
materials at his own printing-works. In the 1960s he patented a
revolutionary process of printing on leather; in the '70s he created his
early patchworks, now considered a classic. Animal-print effects, fish-scale
sequins, waves fading in the sheerness of fabrics: nature is surely a major
source of inspiration for this Florentine fashion designer, who, apart
owning one of Italy's finest racehorse-breeding farms, keeps lots of pets at
the country estate where he lives with his children and beautiful wife Eva
Duringer, a former Miss Universe and now his assistant in the design studio.
1972 marked the beginning of a dazzling career: for the first time Roberto
Cavalli put on a show at Pitti Palace's legendary Sala Bianca in Florence.
Later on he presented at Milano Collezioni as well. Meanwhile, besides
selling his creations in prestigious stores around the world, he opened his
own boutiques in Paris, Venice, New York, St. Barthelemy, Crans Montana and
Saint Tropez. The new boutique opened in October 2000 in Milan, at 42 via
della Spiga. A forerunner in his field, Roberto Cavalli is the creator of an
unmistakable style who has always put forward the image of an exuberantly
sensual woman. He is also a lively figure on the international jet-set
scene, famous for his spectacular parties. Jennifer Lopez, Mena Suvari,
Lenny Kravitz, Whitney Houston, Mary J. Blige, Zucchero and Puff Daddy are
just a few of the celebs who choose to wear his clothes.
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