Erika Cavallini recently took a week off and went to the Italian countryside; longtime friends lent her their beautiful old family home. So inspired was she by the peaceful surroundings that she started working right there on her Resort collection, which came infused with the same languid ease and tranquility she felt while living in that house.
“I felt a need for softness, nothing had to be too constructed or constricting,” she explained. “I avoided anything too heavy or too large; everything had to be light and almost liquid.” Cavallini is a purist; she doesn’t go for elaborate silhouettes or maximalist excesses. Quite the contrary. Her favorite fashion eras are the ’20s, when women favored liberating, elongated lines, and the ’30s, with their sensuous bias-cut column dresses. She couldn’t resist tucking a glamorous absinthe satin number into the Resort lineup, and it was the high note of an otherwise sotto voce collection, where the house in the country, its décor, and memories dictated the rules.
Finding inspiration in domestic bliss, the designer transformed antique white crochet curtains into lace tunics worn over fluid pants; finely embroidered tablecloths were translated into tiered linen dresses; and the prismatic colors of a kaleidoscope found their way on billowy long caftans in silk chiffon. A rose motif was redesigned with a ballpoint pen and given a graphic outline in black and white; it was printed on pleated sundresses worn over palazzo pants.
Cavallini is expanding her line with a new offering of bags and shoes; being quite business savvy, she also worked on a capsule collection of sporty tracksuits, hoodies, and shoppers, where she tried her hand at the ubiquitous logomania and slogan obsession. But she did it her way: “I’m a woman, not a brand” was her forceful message, printed on tees and sweats. Clever.
