15 Facts About Roberto Cavalli

Roberto Cavalli was known for exotic prints and for creating the sand-blasted look for jeans.

Roberto Cavalli's father was killed in 1944 in the Cavriglia massacre, a Nazi reprisal on civilians, when he was four.

Roberto Cavalli enrolled at the local art institute, concentrating on textile print.

Roberto Cavalli debuted these techniques in Paris, immediately winning commissions from the likes of Hermes and Pierre Cardin.

Roberto Cavalli brought it to the catwalks of the Sala Bianca of Palazzo Pitti in Florence, and later his Milano Collezioni featured jeans made of printed denim, intarsia leathers, brocade, and wild-animal prints.

In 1975, he founded the house of Roberto Cavalli fashion, incorporating "femininity, spiritedness, and leopard print" as its pillars.

In Milan in 1994, Roberto Cavalli presented the first sand-blasted jeans.

Besides his main line, which is sold in more than 50 countries worldwide, Roberto Cavalli designed RC Menswear, as well as the youth-aimed diffusion line Just Roberto Cavalli, launched in 2000, today encompasses men's and women's wear and accessories, watches, jewelry, perfumes, eye wear, under garments, and beach attire.

In 2002, Roberto Cavalli opened his first cafe-store in Florence, revamping it with his signature animal prints.

In 1964, Roberto Cavalli married Silvanella Giannoni, with whom he had two children, before their divorce in 1974.

In 2023, Roberto Cavalli announced the birth of his sixth child, with his partner, Swedish model and actor Sandra Nilsson.

Roberto Cavalli died at his home in Florence, Italy, on 12 April 2024, aged 83, following a long period of ill-health.

In May 2014, Roberto Cavalli approached Investcorp, an investment firm in the Persian Gulf, as a potential buyer of a stake in his fashion brand.

Roberto Cavalli was sharply criticized in 2004 by the Hindu community for marketing a line of feminine underwear which featured the images of Hindu goddesses.

The Maktab Tarighat Oveyssi Shahmaghsoudi school of Islamic Sufism accused Roberto Cavalli of copying their "sacred emblem" for branding the Just Roberto Cavalli line.