It s _arrivederci_for Roberto Cavalli s traditional glamour puss. And so long, as well, to the more romantic muse of recent seasons. His new girl? "She s tough, aggressive, sexy, and young, and she s going to help me fight this crisis," Cavalli said backstage. Her weapons of choice: grommeted and studded black-suede tank dresses and scarves, fur jackets, steel-heeled leather boots so high they disappear underneath her hems, body-conscious knits, and leggings that lace up the sides. Off duty, she might choose jersey T-shirts and minis featuring faded trompe l oeil prints of dresses from past collections. But after dark, she pulls out the big guns: sheer knit gowns in midnight blue or black, layered over bodysuits that leave miles of leg exposed.
Sound familiar? No, Cavalli s not on the leading edge of the rocker-chick trend. It s not necessarily fair to call him a follower, though. US Weekly readers and Beyoncé fans might not have picked up on it, but he s been inching away from animal prints and the like for a couple of years. A photographer in the crowd remarked that when he asks one particularly tough, aggressive, sexy, and young editor what she s wearing, the answer is often, "Cavalli!" After last season s confused meandering between fifties debutante dresses and seventies disco, this collection not only has the courage of its convictions but also seems destined to sell.
