With high-necked lace blouses, jet beading, and funereal black capelets on one hand, and tight little tailored jackets, ribbed leggings, and knee-high boots on the other, Roberto Cavalli's pre-fall collection felt like an unholy union of Queen Victoria and Pat Benatar. Unlikely as it sounds, the collection worked best when the two sides met in the same outfit, as they did with a big bat-wing poncho in black cashmere draped with a sable capelet dripping jet (and worn with leggings and ankle boots). The animal prints and the artisanal leatherwork (combined with marmot, astrakhan, and mink in one jacket) echoed the vulgar zest of vintage Cavalli, but it was actually the prim sobriety of vintage Victoriana that left the lasting impression. A strange and somber tack for Cavalli to take.
