On the 40th anniversary of his label, Roberto Cavalli reveals to Harper’s Bazaar why leopard is lovely, imitation is unflattering, and the party should never end. The photo shoot, in the June issue of the magazine with Katherine Heigl on the cover, captures Cavalli posing with his wife, Eva, their son, Daniele, their flamboyant friends, as well as a lion cub, at their home in Florence, Italy. In the interview, he opens up about what he loves about women, why he thinks he is “a completely typical man,” and more.
On fall’s low-key tailoring: “Minimalism is so boring.”
On other designers taking inspiration from his trademark ideas: “In the beginning, when people copied me I was happy.” But now, “I can understand when H&M or Zara copies me, but I hate it when big designers copy me. You have a big name, you should never copy me.”
On the provenance of his trademark leopard print: “God created such a fantastic world. Leopard is an animal design, and my designs come from nature.”
On his love for fashion, and for women: “Of course I think about a beautiful woman to dress, because that’s my way,” he says with a shrug. Is there a difference? “Yes,” he says. “I don’t masturbate thinking about fashion.”
On what he loves about women: “Their eyes. A woman can drive me crazy with her eyes. And when they don’t pay attention to me, they drive me crazy too.” “I am a completely typical man.”
Photo credit: Jason Schmidt
