At another label, the sand on the runway might ve meant we were in for a rugged safari, perhaps featuring clothes with a utilitarian or, at the very least, sporty bent. Not at Just Cavalli. Even in the desert, the designer s party girls wear platform sandals, sequins, and big-time costume baubles. The only real nod to the show s "Back to Nature" title were leopard and zebra prints, but even they were done up in candy-colored silks that were patched together to create vaguely twenties-ish drop-waist dresses, a silhouette that reappeared in peekaboo black lace. The eighties had their moment, too, in the form of flippy denim or leather minis worn with slouchy rolled-sleeve tees featuring—believe it or not—macro-prints of the faces of Roberto and his wife, Eva. The little bit of this, little bit of that approach gave the show an I-just-nicked-this-from-my-mom s-closet vibe, totally in keeping with the way girls too young to remember the eighties dress today. The designers may have indulged their wacky side, but chances are that s just the way their customers like it.
