The designer Roberto Cavalli died this Friday in Florence, at the age of 83, according to the Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera. One of the best-known names in the world of fashion, Cavalli has died after a long illness, as confirmed by his partner of 15 years Sandra Bergman Nilsonn. At the moment, the information shared by the transalpine press does not specify the cause of death.
Born in Florence on November 15, 1940, Cavalli was part of an aristocratic family from his childhood. Already as a child he had to live with loss, after his father was murdered by a soldier from Nazi Germany. Even so, the pain was overshadowed by artistic gifts that he began to show at an early age, inspired by his painter grandfather. He was the main reason why he decided to study art.
In the first instance, it was photography that captivated the Florentine, before fashion became his main task in life. It was at the age of 30 that Cavalli turned his last name into a brand and launched the first collection under this name. From there, his designs and his personality did the rest, becoming one of the most important Italian fashion creators of recent decades, always maintaining humility.
“You shouldn’t call me a designer because I have never been able to sketch a silhouette. My talent has to do with making fabrics and women special. My dream is to make dresses that change women’s lives. The most beautiful have that power,” he expressed, being in charge of signing clothing for some of the most influential women in the world, such as the singer Madonna.
The American shared on her Instagram profile some images of the exhibition of her son’s paintings, Rocco Ritchie. There, she visited a green denim-style outfit created by the Florentine, making her one of the last people to wear her designs during her lifetime. On a personal level, Cavalli had shared a decade and a half romance with the aforementioned Sandra Bergman Nilsonn. In March 2023, his sixth child, Giorgio, the first of this duo, was born.
In some of his latest statements, the designer showed his point of view on the current path of fashion, after selling 90% of his brand in 2015: “What I miss is creating something. Especially if I look at the newspapers, where there is a bit of current fashion. I feel incapable, incapable of everything I don’t do and would like to do. I would like to continue being present because it seems to me that there is nothing left. “I never wanted to leave, but there was nothing else I could do.”
