Just Cavalli

By Nicole Phelps

"At another label, the sand on the runway might've meant we were in for a rugged safari, perhaps featuring clothes with a utilitarian or, at the very least, sporty bent. Not at Just Cavalli. Even in the desert, the designer's party girls wear platform sandals, sequins, and big-time costume baubles. The only real nod to the show's "Back to Nature" title were leopard and zebra prints, but even they were done up in candy-colored silks that were patched together to create vaguely twenties-ish drop-waist dresses, a silhouette that reappeared in peekaboo black lace. The eighties had their moment, too, in the form of flippy denim or leather minis worn with slouchy rolled-sleeve tees featuring—believe it or not—macro-prints of the faces of Roberto and his wife, Eva. The little bit of this, little bit of that approach gave the show an I-just-nicked-this-from-my-mom's-closet vibe, totally in keeping with the way girls too young to remember the eighties dress today. The designers may have indulged their wacky side, but chances are that's just the way their customers like it."