By Edwardo Flores for Global Fashion News
For spring 2013, Roberto Cavalli’s exuberant sex-appeal was merged with the romantic, rounded curves and scroll work of the Art Nouveau era. The swirls and flowing curvilinear lines perfectly frame a women’s body. “It’s like a frame, a beautiful frame,” said Roberto Cavalli.
Cavalli unveiled an army of dangerously sexy women dressed in filmy slip dresses that exuded a smoldering sensuality. His signature silhouettes were boiled-down and layered into wispy layers of silk mousseline, chiffon, lace, and light weight summer leather, punctuated with lace finishes, ultra-high slits and intricately detailed leather. He also introduced languid trousers under tunics, ideally suited for hot spots like Miami or the Italian riviera. The combination of fabrics resulted in fluid, lighter-than-air layers, that lightly skimmed the body.
Flora and fauna references are Roberto Cavalli’s nom de guerre, this season however he diluted them into almost invisible backgrounds that peeked-out among the swirls and scrolls of the delicate Art Nouveau prints, which were all designed entirely by hand.
Sexy has always been a part of the vocabulary at Cavalli. A lime-green slip dress rendered in an art nouveau print, and edged in delicate lace with high slits at the front fluttered as the model walked down the runway. Leather jeans were slashed and frayed Balmain-style into horizontal strips or laser cut into intricate flower patterns that revealed flashes of bare skin. These were paired with long silk tunics, adorned with lace appliqués or matching laser-cut leather floral patterns.
For evening, dresses were cut with plunging necklines or side cutouts that displayed the sensuous curves of the female body, many embellished with precious metal beading and glass embroideries that dissolved into the gowns. His color pendulum swung from pristine white to jet black with flashes of nude blush, lime-green and apricot.
The exceptional leather craftsmanship in the collection gives testimony to Roberto Cavalli’s Florentine heritage and infallible ability to seduce, catering to women who revel in a leisurely lifestyle and enjoy being the center of attention.
