It was recently revealed that the legendary Roberto Cavalli passed away at age 83 on April 12 at home in Florence, Italy. He had been retired for some time, selecting his successor Peter Dundas back in 2015. (Although Dundas only lasted three seasons.) But the fashion house that Cavalli built is still going strong under the direction of Fausto Puglisi.
While Puglisi's Cavalli is doing well and has its fair share of celebrity enthusiasts, Cavalli's original designs are being kept alive as many celebs have stocked their already impressive closets with vintage Cavalli treasures. Which is certainly not surprising. After all, Cavalli's creations are the epitome of sexy, frequently boasting all kinds of fierce animal prints, from leopards to tigers and even crocodiles.
You can count Zendaya, Kim Kardashian, Bella Hadid, Emily Ratajkowski, Miley Cyrus, Iris Law and Kourtney Kardashian among the long list of vintage Cavalli connoisseurs. All have rocked the designer's looks from years gone by. Proving that his footprint on the fashion universe has no expiration date.
Zendaya has rocked old-school Cavalli a couple of times. Most recently at the 2024 Green Carpet Fashion Awards where she stunned in a Spring 2011 fringed crocodile print dress polished off with Bulgari jewelry. For the 2021 Ballon d'Or France Football award ceremony, the actress made yet another style statement decked out in a Cavalli Fall 2000 dress complete with a gold spine along the back.
The Kardashians are clearly obsessed. Both Kim and Kourtney flaunted the same tiger Cavalli dress at different times on their respective Instagram accounts. Kim also showcased a zebra print dress with fur accents from the late designer's Fall 2000 offering.
Cyrus strutted her stuff in her music video for the song "Doctor (Work It Out)" wearing a fun embroidered number from Cavalli's Spring 2004 collection. If you aren't a Cavalli devotee, you'd probably think this dress is from a more recent collection. Demonstrating the truly timeless nature of Cavalli's designs.
Cavalli is no stranger to the Cannes International Film Festival. Back in 2019, Hadid hit the festival red carpet outfitted in a red Cavalli gown first debuted at the house's Spring 2005 show. That dynamic dress actually had many Cannes appearances, including courtesy of Sharon Stone in 2013.
For the Moet & Chandon Holiday Season Celebration in December 2022, Ratajkowski modeled a vintage Cavalli dress. Her strappy sandals were actually wrapped all the way up to her dress.
On the other hand, Law complemented her glitzy Cavalli with plenty of bling. Including her eye makeup.
So if during your many vintage shopping trips you come across anything Cavalli, snap it up. Because now those pieces are going to be in even higher demand.
