Roberto Cavalli, famed Italian designer, dead at 83: ‘A beacon of inspiration for others’

ROME — Italian fashion designer Roberto Cavalli, known for a flamboyant and glamorous style, has died at age 83, his company said Friday on Instagram.

“Dear Roberto, you may not be physically here with us anymore but I know I will feel your spirit with me always,” Fausto Puglisi, creative director at Roberto Cavalli since October 2020, wrote in the social media post. “Your name will continue on, a beacon of inspiration for others, and especially for me,” Puglisi added.

The fashion house, founded by Cavalli in 1975, also released a quote by the designer that paid tribute to his ultimate muse: “I copy the dress of an animal because I love to copy God. I think God is the most fantastic designer.”

The Florence-born designer became renowned in the early 1970s for his animal prints and for a sexy, over-the-top style that remained his trademark throughout his long career.

Color, glam and tight fits often ruled his repertoire, which made appearances both at fashion shows and starry events like the Met Gala.

“Every design of mine will be sexy,” he told The Post in 2003, “but not too much. Because the line between sexy and vulgar can be too close sometimes.”

His work found fans in many A-list names from Hollywood legends Sofia Loren and Brigitte Bardot to Naomi Campbell and Beyoncé, from Madonna and Cher to the Spice Girls and Zendaya.

But Cavalli’s focus wasn’t just on celebrities: In the 1990s, he turned the jeans industry on its head by adding Lycra to denim — bringing omnipresent stretch jeans to the masses.

“Fashion is part of our life. When you wake up in the morning you say, ‘What do I have to wear to look beautiful, fantastic, sexy, special?'” he once told CNN of his desire to leave a stamp on the fashion industry. “That is the reason I love being a fashion designer because I can use it to measure your mood, your life.”

In February at Milan Fashion Week, his brand showcased its Puglisi-designed fall/winter 2024-25 collection, which offered an “ode to metamorphosis, with polychrome marbles representing and inspiring a woman’s readiness to transform, evolve and reinterpret herself,” USA Today reported.

The company named after Cavalli, who retired from active label work in 2015, also shared its condolences with his family after his passing.

“His legacy remains a constant source of inspiration,” said Sergio Azzolari, CEO at the Roberto Cavalli fashion house.

He is survived by six children, Reuters reported, including a son born just last year with his partner of 10 years, Sandra Nilsson. He was previously married twice.

Post wire services contributed to this report.