Roberto Cavalli

Roberto Cavalli
Cavalli is an infectious designer, one of Milan's most-imitated and a source of much of the city's fashion energy. He's also a larger-than-life personality whose ability to move fragrances and even drinks at his club in Dubai make other "lifestyle" designers look like amateurs. His joie de vivre is clearly alive and well for Fall, albeit with a more neutral color palette (black, beige, grey, and nude) and an urban-warrior silhouette. Brocade jackets and pants provided a touch of baroque to the drop-crotch leopard-print chiffon pants and ultra-narrow transparent styles. Scores of toss-on fur vests and jackets staved off any hint of glitz, as did wrap-around scarves finished with fur bits. But it was Cavalli's take on loose-fit goddess gowns, backless and made from rough-pleated silk, that were easiest to love, especially the last look in a splendid shade of blush, with a racerback and scores of pieced-on lace. Plenty of sense there, and even more sensibility.