A Sphere of Couture by Roberto Cavalli FW 2013/14

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Roberto Cavalli has never been one to shy away from technology, and has made digital imaging a particularly exuberant hallmark of his prints. Lately though, the Italian designer has been craving a more artisanal approach to his work, and that old-world nostalgia led him back to the drawing board, or more specifically, the painter’s easel. Using the artwork of sixteenth-century masters like Caravaggio and Rubens as a springboard, Cavalli created a series of floral and baroque tableaux that were woven into the new collection. His motifs were often re-created by hand on the clothes, and those sitting in the front row today were able to trace the colorful brushstrokes across the back of a sleek leather blazer, for example. Elsewhere the patterns were embedded into fabrics in more tactile ways case in point, the two devoré velvet tuxedo suits that came down the runway in royal blue and purple.

Like several other designers this season, Cavalli and his wife and creative partner Eva have been pondering the idea of modern armor. He sought the help of local centuries-old Florentine ateliers to put his ideas into action, incorporating fur and leather into an intricate chain mail on an army of models in shimmering black thigh-grazing minidresses. That darker mood is in keeping with what we’ve seen so far, although ultimately his vision and craftwork were filtered through a romantic lens: Unravel the cubist latticework on pleated miniskirts, and his soft petal-strewn paintings reappear.

What does art represent for a Florentine?

A sense of place, a form of nostalgia, a necessity, a consequence. Even more so for a Florentine such as Roberto Cavalli, grandson of Giuseppe Rossi (a painter from the Macchiaioli movement, whose work is at the Uffizi ) and student at the State Institute of Art. It is not a coincidence that the first label of the designer was "Roberto Cavalli Art in Fashion".

This is why this collection, a lavish collection, with a strong and refined power of seduction, was built around the cult and the love of art and craftsmanship. A collection which extends from creative inspirations to picturesque reminiscences, and is unveiled as the most loyal reflection of the designer's history and inclinations.

Cavalli is born as a printer - both experimental and innovative - of textiles and fabrics, and in these latest creations, the print portrayed on his clothes and his accessories, marks a return to the original criteria and purity of manual artistry: the weaves, the designs, the colors and the handmade decorations are as traditional as the ones created in the workshops of the Renaissance.

A video, which will be distributed in the boutiques, will reveal the fascinating and delicate processes which compose the construction of a hand painted gown, belt or bag.
Flora and fauna, as seen in the masterpieces of Caravaggio and Rubens, have been revisited and reinterpreted by professionals and art student alike, to create fabrics that through a plissé effect become cubist fantasies. Art and master craftsmanship are not limited to painting, it extends to the workmanship on the furs traditionally assembled on a loom with small leather strips, to the profusion of sequins, sparkles, studs and small chains used on the fabrics and leathers for a captivating and sensual "armour" effect. All this is created for women who do not have an ordinary personality, who are confident, who love themselves and have an intense desire to be loved.

It is undeniable that this collection and its characteristics consciously penetrate the sphere of couture, intensifying the main credo of the Cavalli world: to make whoever wears a Cavalli dress feel special and unique. For this same confident woman; the printed double revers tuxedos (like the stripes on the super-slim pants), the fitted tweed tops embellished with sequins, or mini-skirts with micro-steel inlays and fox furs with chiselled detailing and tri-dimensional jacquard. The colors represent a fusion ranging from black-white-silver to magenta, cobalt blue, aquamarine, with tones of violet and fuchsia, and then black with gold inlays.

The accessories feature a softer and more delicate interpretation of the renowned Hera shoulder bag collection, the mythological goddess procuress of femininity, revisited in different floral and animal print nuanced fabrics and 4-inch high-heeled pumps with geometric lines and metal tips. Necklaces sculpted with moths, snakes, roses, raspberries, blueberries; brooches with eagles on the tuxedo shirt collars and large earring-sculptures jewelry which envelops and seemingly protects, while at the same time creating a lasting impression.

 

Selections by ANDREA JANKE Finest Accessories 

Photo Credit/Source: VOGUE & Roberto Cavalli

Runway: Photography by Marcus Tondo / InDigitalteam / GoRunway

Details. Photography by Gianni Pucci / InDigitalteam / GoRunway

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