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Roberto Cavalli’s show was a decadent extravaganza in the dark, like something from the last day’s of Rome; a catwalk blooming with 40,000 red, yellow and white roses arranged in thick tiger striping, and the designer himself walking his dog, stately German Shepherd Lupo, along the front row with imperial majesty. Cavalli resides, of course, on a magnificent 32-acre Florentine estate – complete with helipad and outdoor jacuzzi – but this show also had something of the mad scientist, inventing imaginary animals in his laboratory; crocodiles, minks, ponies and pythons were all mixed together in a series of tailored illusions and printed deceptions. Liu Wen’s lynx top was paired with snakeskin flares painted like a snow leopard, while Magdalena Frackowiak marched through the night in a mink tee, dyed light violet and lasered into a crocodile pattern (matched with a ruby choker, elbow-length leather gloves in dominatrix plum, and sparkly purple-sequinned trousers that sparkled). Towards the end, a platinum-blonde Daphne Groeneveld appeared as a floaty jungle cat, in an extraordinary multi-tiered gown of jaguar silk. It wasn’t all OTT luxury though, as these mythical creatures were also mixed with a dash of rude-girl, through tall feathered baseball caps, and even rock chicks; some girls sported the bleached tresses and smoky eyes of Gossip Girl’s ‘Little J’. As Naomi Campbell marched down the runway Roberto laid on a brilliant ending to Milan, and a show-stopping celebration of Italian luxury.
Text: Dean Kissick
Photography: Mitchell Sams
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