Glamour, said Paul Surridge today, is a word he’s heard over and over again since arriving at Roberto Cavalli last year. At the height of the house founder’s success, his shows were delirious with it: OTT exercises in fur, exotic leathers, and animal print—lots and lots of animal print. Surridge has inherited Cavalli at a time when fashion has not only begun questioning the use of animal skins but has also turned away from high-wattage glamour in favor of other things such as artisanal craftwork and vintage quirkiness. Surridge is well aware of the challenges facing him. If Cavalli has gotta be glamorous, he’s going to do it his way. Explaining his mindset, Surridge said, “Glamour for me is attraction, attraction is confidence, and confidence is comfort. If you’re not comfortable, you’re not confident.”
True enough, but if one side of attraction is confidence, the other is sensuousness, and that’s an area where Surridge is a little weak. His handkerchief-hem numbers were droopy, and his sparkling fringed party dresses could’ve used more slink. Coming from the menswear world, tailoring is one of his strengths, but the many riding jackets on the runway would’ve benefitted from some serious nips and tucks.
As for the trademark Cavalli kitsch, the embellished jeans that made Roberto’s fortune are probably better left in the vault and the less said about the dude whose torso was body painted ombré (an RC signature) the better. Like we said, Cavalli’s legacy is a tricky one to wrangle with in 2018. Surridge might be better off ignoring it next season and establishing his own definition of modern glamour.
