Fashion designer Roberto Cavalli dead at 83

Legendary maximalist fashion designer Roberto Cavalli has passed away. He was 83.

His namesake brand announced his passing in a statement via Instagram.

“It is with great sadness that today we say our final goodbyes to our founder Roberto Cavalli,” the statement read.

It described the Italian fashion designer, “From humble beginnings in Florence Roberto succeeded in becoming a globally recognized name loved and respected by all. Naturally talented and creative, Roberto believed that everyone can discover and nurture the artist within themselves.”

“Roberto Cavalli’s legacy will live on via his creativity, his love of nature, and via his family who he cherished,” the statement continued.

However, the cause of dead of Cavalli is yet to be shared.

Cavalli was famous for his love of animal prints and bright colors. His jewelry designs were worn by A-list celebrities including Rihanna, Zendaya, Rita Ora, Jennifer Lopez, and the Spice Girls.

The late designer launched his career in 1970 after graduating from the Art Institute of Florence.

He later opened his own shop in St. Tropez where he invented as well as patented his own printing process on leather. His leather goods products gained notoriety.

Cavalli and his first wife Silvanella Giannoni married in 1964. The couple welcomed two children - Tommaso and Cristina – before getting divorced ten years later.

His second wife was pageant queen Eva Maria Düringer. They had met at Miss Universe in the Dominican Republic, where he was a judge and she appeared as a contestant.

Cavalli and Düringer were married from 1980 to 2010 and share three children - Robert, Rachele, and Daniele.

They were not only spouses but Düringer was also a fashion designer and creative director of Cavalli’s brand in 1994.

His sixth child was born in March 2023, a son named Giorgio, whom he shares with model Sandra Nilsson-Bergman, 38. They had been together since 2014.

Aside from designing, he also opened clubs, and cafés, and designed home furnishings like wallpaper, furniture, textiles, and more.

His autobiography Just Me! was published in 2014.

Paul Puglisi, who succeeded as the eponymous brand’s creative director, also took to Instagram to honor his death.

“Dear Roberto, you may not be physically here with us anymore but I know I will feel your spirit with me always. It is the greatest honour of my career to work under your legacy and to create for the brand you founded with such vision and style. Rest in peace you will be missed and you are loved by so many that your name will continue on, a beacon of inspiration for others, and especially for me,” he wrote.