A new way to wear Cavalli

by Rebecca Mann |
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In a welcome respite from the rugby (Alain who? DON’T get me started on the injustice of that red card) this writer heads off to Tuscany today, for the official reveal of the first Roberto Cavalli fragrance from Coty Prestige. The Cavalli beauty licence was previously held by ICR-ITF. Coty’s agreement took effect last summer, and the company has been hard at work ever since creating what it hopes will be another blockbuster international brand.

The fragrance is set to launch worldwide, in both domestic and travel retail markets, in February 2012. Coty has made no secret of the fact that it has extremely high hopes for this Cavalli licence, viewing it as a third global pillar, alongside Davidoff and Calvin Klein.


Paris Hilton rocks the red carpet in Cavalli

The nature –and scale – of the launch event underlines that belief. In addition to interviews, factory visits and city tours, tomorrow the designer is throwing open the doors of his private villa in Florence, to host both a press conference and a cocktail party, to celebrate the launch of his first olfactory collaboration with Coty. Over the years I have been lucky enough to eat dinner at the Ferragamo family home in Florence, and to potter around Giorgio Armani’s achingly chic abode in Portofino. I confess I am nearly sick with excitement at the prospect of being allowed over the Cavalli threshold. (Remember, I hail from the Valleys. Chintz is considered outré where I come from.)

I’m pretty psyched about seeing the fragrance, too. Never knowingly understated, Cavalli’s fashion is in-your-face flamboyant. The designer is known for his love of colour, glamour – and animal print. Think wild, sexy and showy. He is red carpet royalty. What’s not to like?

The smart money says Coty will manage admirably to translate all those elements into a signature fragrance. At the reveal of the debut Bottega Veneta Eau de Parfum in Milan earlier this year, Coty Prestige Marketing Director, Travel Retail and Export Worldwide Markus Stauss emphasised how closely BV Creative Director Tomas Maier had been involved in everything to do with the fragrance. “We know we have really captured the DNA of the brand, and not just stuck a logo on a product,” he told The Moodie Report. That strategy of authenticity will doubtless have been extended to Cavalli too.

Coty has been on the right track from the very beginning. Fashionistas and fragrance aficionados the world over would have been reassured by the words of Coty Prestige President Michele Scannavini, when he described The Roberto Cavalli Group as one of the most joyous and colourful Italian fashion houses, when the licence was first announced in July 2010.

“They have a unique culture of eccentricity and a constant drive for pioneering creativity,” he noted. “Fragrance is a key opportunity for this successful company and we are looking forward to working with Roberto and Eva Cavalli to capture their incomparable flamboyant style in an olfactive identity.”

In other words, expect no beige. Ciao!