Roberto Cavalli debuted his line of cheap fashion wear for fast fashion chain H&M, and the crowds ate it up like a pack of starving tigers set loose in your local Sizzler!
In New York:
The Fashion Bomb Does…Roberto Cavalli @ H&M
And in London:
Roberto Cavalli at H&M: The queues, the scrum, the madness!
Cavalli’s H&M collection sells out
There are even stories of ill-mannered shoppers scoring coveted items from the very dressing rooms of unsuspecting targets:
Roberto Cavalli: Beware the clothes-nappers
“This week, it was reported that Linzi Stoppard, daughter-in-law of playwright Tom, was so desperate to obtain a £200 gold beaded Roberto Cavalli dress from H&M that she resorted to clothes-napping: she slipped her hand into another woman’s changing room and whipped the frock she wanted from the hanger.”
I was talking just last week with a friend of mine who was bemoaning designer Cavalli’s move into low-end, mass-produced chic: “Why?!” she wailed. “Why is he doing this? He doesn’t need the money, he doesn’t need the fame! Why is he tarnishing a lifetime of work in the couture field with this?”
I had to remind her that while she may think he doesn’t need the money, perhaps HE thinks he could use it just fine, and believe me, I’m sure he’s making bank off this endeavor — and what with animal prints pretty much played out in the high-end lines (look for them to mostly disappear from the runways after this season), Cavalli, the king of the leopard print bag and the tiger striped dress, has nowhere else to go but way way way down the fashion food chain to find a customer base still willing to strut about in yet another tired old zebra print blouse.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s much to like about Roberto Cavalli’s creations (I nabbed Louise a pair of these sensational, laser-cut pumps this past spring), but methinks his animal print fetish has finally worn out its welcome in polite fashion circles. Don’t believe me? Just read this:
“Mr. Cavalli has boiled down his signature looks for the masses into what you could call the Cavalli DNA. Unfortunately, that would be leopard prints for women and pimp wear for men. . . . Looking at a $249 long-haired fake fox bomber with a wide, excessively studded leather belt, there’s really not much difference from what you might find under the “street walker” section of the (Halloween) costumes on sale at Ricky’s.”
Judging from the sold-out frenzy at H&M’s global array of stores, perhaps it’s best not to underestimate a young, mainstream, middle-class girl’s desire to dress like a cheap Italian hooker.
“We’d only do this for Cavalli. We love him,” said Cigdem Keles flushed and bright eyed after fighting off other shoppers to grab more than 500 pounds ($1,050) worth of clothes.”
And it’s unsolicited praise like this that’s got Roberto grinning from ear to ear. H&M’s sales for November are already predicted to spike due to what analysts are calling “The Cavalli Effect” . . .
