In Cavalli For Harpers Bazaar, Nov. 2010
Barbra Streisand posed in a Roberto Cavalli gown and fur shrug, which perfectly accented the colors of the “Bee’s Doll Shop” room in her basement mall. Shot by Terry Richardson, this photo appeared in Harpers Bazaar in Nov 2010.
In this piece, Barbra notes that she was inspired by a series of early 19th-century shops created as collection displays by curators at Delaware’s Winterthur museum. “Seeing Winterthur’s indoor street, I thought how ingenious that was. Instead of just storing my things in the basement, I can make a street of shops and display them.”
A version of this boho maxi dress debuted as look #22 in the Roberto Cavalli Fall 2010 ready-to-wear show.
The only variation in Barbra’s dress from the runway look is that it has a plunging v neckline. This flowing boho maxi gown is made from printed silk plissé. The dress features a soft blended leopard print which is one of Cavalli’s signatures. Metallic thread throughout the fabric gives there dress a light sheen. A row of plissé trim wraps around the mid thigh area, and there is a lettuce hem. Off-white fabric climbs up the center of the bodice which features pin tucking and rows of inward pointing brown sequins at the bust. This was paired with a round neck fox fur stole with a tie closure. At the time of publication, these pieces sold for $8,815.00 and $1,950.00 respectively.
Roberto Cavalli has been using animal prints in his collections since the 1970’s and is nicknamed the “leopard king”. Born in Florence, Italy, Cavalli attended Florence’s Academy of Art, and eventually began experimenting with painting on textiles. He recalled that “My dream, maybe because of my family, was to be a painter. I chose in one moment the direction of textiles; from textiles I went to fashion.”
Cavalli opened his first boutique in Saint-Tropez in 1972 and became a pioneer in the denim world when he launched printed jeans in 1988 and the first sand blasted jeans in 1994. He often described the kind of women who wore his sultry and sexy clothing as “glamazons”.
Cavalli sold the brand and retired in 2015. Due to financial distress all US stores closed in recent years. The brand was recently purchased by Damac, a property developer based in Dubai.