Is Paul Surridge the right guy for Roberto Cavalli? Surridge hails from the men’s business, and my Vogue Runway colleague sang his menswear’s praises back in June, noting Surridge’s sensitivity to the “considered vulgarity” that is at the root of the Cavalli brand. Upon inspection, the photos from that Pitti Uomo show do reveal an eye for a lurid clashing print, and, with those years at Zegna under his belt, he’s certainly a confident tailor.
But the learning curve in womenswear is steep, and while Surridge may have the hand for it, it’s not clear yet that he has the eye. That might be partly because no one is really doing sexy anymore—Donatella Versace herself went sort of sweet last night with her twisted micro-florals. If Surridge could get the formula right, it could be major for him and the Cavalli brand. There are still Glamazons out there to dress.
The closest Surridge got to sexy today was an easy-on, easy-off one-shoulder micro-minidress in a graphic print. There was plenty of skin elsewhere, but the cropped blouses worn under deeply scooped tank dresses looked complicated, with the cut-out dresses only marginally less so. Otherwise, Surridge’s taste for neutrals doesn’t really jibe with the house’s more-is-more aesthetic. To study the collection as a whole is to see a designer much more persuasive with streamlined minimalism than OTT Cavalli-isms.
On that note, this was the show that convinced this reviewer of the viability of the (elongated) blazer-and-bike-short silhouette. Which isn’t nothing.
