Known for his flamboyant style, veteran Italian fashion designer Roberto Cavalli has passed away. He was 83.
The famous fashion designer had been ill for a long time, leaving and entering the hospital more and more often for ritual checkups, his family told The Hollywood Reporter.
Cavalli's company also issued a statement on social media, announcing the demise of Cavalli.
"Roberto succeeded in becoming a globally recognised name loved and respected by all. Naturally talented and creative, Roberto believed that everyone can discover and nurture the artist within themselves," the post read.
In 1970s, Cavalli became popular in the early 1970s for his animal prints. He imagined the women who wore his clothes as wild creatures: lionesses, panthers, and tigers, charming and wild. In the mid-1990s, Cavalli revolutionised the world of denim with a number of innovations, among them stretch jeans, which he invented by adding Lycra to the fabric, and a process for sand-blasting denim pieces that gave them a lived-in effect.
The designer opened his first boutique in St. Tropez, France, the most exclusive vacation destination for VIPs, in 1972.
As per CNN, Cavalli retired from active duty at his label in 2015, picking designer Peter Dundas to succeed him as creative director. Dundas left the job after only three seasons and was succeeded by Paul Surridge, who remained until 2019. In the same year, after a period of financial difficulties that led to bankruptcy, the business was acquired by a Dubai-based private investment firm, which has since retained the designer Fausto Puglisi for its fashion collections and further branched out into Cavalli-branded real estate and hospitality ventures.
Cavalli's survivors include his longtime partner Sandra Bergman Nilsonn and his six children, Tommaso, Cristiana, Robert, Rachele, Daniele, and Giorgio. With his demise, he has left a huge void in the fashion industry.
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