Italian luxury fashion company Roberto Cavalli’s new head designer, Fausto Puglisi, has presented a convincing pre-fall collection for the brand. The Sicilian-born designer stated that he wanted the lineup to focus on essentials interpreted through both the iconic Cavalli lens and through his internationally unapologetic filter.
Puglisi is perhaps best known in the public eye for his dressing of celebrities. From Lady Gaga’s crystal spangles for Tony Bennett’s last concert, to Miley’s iconic 4th of July look, Puglisi’s former life as a stage designer informs his current position as a fashion designer, and he derives a lot of job satisfaction from that aspect of his work.
But how do you take a luxury brand and make it attainable? Most of us don’t have teams of dedicated professionals checking to see how we look before we walk out of the house. Puglisi manages to walk the line between runway and office, mixing the more classical aesthetic style of the brand’s prior collections with his own unique design philosophy.
The result is highly appealing. Mainly working with women’s wear staples, such as trenchcoats, impeccable overcoats, shirtdresses, sartorial suits and more feminine separates, he creatively played with patterns and textures. Mixing the brand’s signature wild animal motifs with British tartan and checks, he created outfits including cardigans with crest patches matched with revisited kilt skirts, flared miniskirts worn with argyle sweaters and sensual devoré velvet evening frocks and soft leather slip dresses enriched with lace details. Fil coupe gowns with sexy cutouts represented the most seductive side of the collection, which offered a smart balance between bold glamour and an approachable, wearable look.
Puglisi Stamps His Style
It is perhaps the balance more than anything that defines Puglisi’s work with Roberto Cavalli. While he does have a self-admitted tendency to downplay the trademark R.C. sizzle, it is still present. But combined with Puglisi’s own unique style to form a new direction for the brand. “I don’t want to live with the ghost of someone else,” he said, referring to the house founder’s more-is-more ethos. “I want it to be fun but at the same time wearable.”
This updated ethos is reflective of the overall change in the industry to focus on a broader audience. And it comes through in his work. Some of the outfits are still in that stratosphere reserved for runway models, but Puglisi seems more interested in bringing the higher points of high fashion down a notch and making them more accessible. Many of the looks wouldn’t look out of place worn to the office, or an event. Overall Robero Cavalli’s pre-fall collection is very appealing and effectively balances high fashion aesthetics with a fresh and interesting accessibility.
Take a look at some of the new collection below:
Credit: Vogue
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