Ma, quale financial crisis? Mere mortals may be thinking of how to cut back expenses, but Roberto Cavalli is plotting new ways to expand his universe. His newest venture zeroes in on just what the world needs now: a Cavalli credit card, conceived in partnership with Mastercard, and embellished with a gold logo and a multihued, iridescent snakeskin print. (No word yet on whether high spenders will be able to upgrade to, say, crocodile or leopard.) The Italian designer will host a dinner this Sunday during Milan fashion week with special guests like Milla Jovovich, who will star with him in an Internet-only ad campaign, and Elizabeth Hurley.
The card offers Cavalli-centric benefits like invitations to trunk shows and special events, but there could be more. “I’m thinking about creating a Web site where card holders can chat directly with me,” Cavalli said. “Maybe you have a daughter studying at Saint Martins or F.I.T. who wants to come to my show — why not? If you have the Cavalli card, you are part of my fashion club, like a friend on Facebook.”
Cavalli swears he’s not a big spender — though he splurges on gifts, electronics and gadgets for his small rubber boat, which he uses to get to his bigger boat. (“I enjoy it more because I can drive it myself.”) But he insists this new card sends an optimistic message. “The snake print has always been a good-luck charm for me. I hope people will buy things to make them happy for a few hours.”
This is hardly the only project on Cavalli’s horizon. He just concluded a collaborative effort with Coca-Cola, designing small Cavalli-logoed bottles. (“They sent me 100,000 bottles. I don’t know what to do with them.”) After his show in Milan, Cavalli will head to Paris, where he is opening a new six-floor flagship on rue St.-Honoré and debuting a clothing line for dogs, modeled after his own pets. “I used to have a tiger, but now I only have bichon frisés — and my macaque monkey, of course.”
Maybe Cavalli is downsizing after all.
