Paul Surridge was appointed Creative Director in May 2017 and brings his British flair to the Roberto Cavalli Pre-Fall 2018 collection.

“I’ve given a great deal of thought to what is sexy now, what sensuality really means. Sensuality is inherent to womenswear; yet today, it has to be laced with comfort. Glamour and sensuality are core values for Cavalli; definitely, it’s something that I’d like to develop and celebrate much more going forward,” he explained.

Shifting the attention to daywear and embracing a more realistic approach seems a consistent choice for Pre-Fall “Of course, I celebrate elegance, but I’m working on providing a modern uniform for working women, be they politicians, celebrities, professionals, diplomats, whatever, trying to serve many women, many moments throughout their days.”

His way forward seems to be a kind of rounding of the edges, putting an accent on a certain fluidity, and enhancing sensuality through a sense of movement: “Sensuality is not always about being body-con or on display,” he said. “I wanted something more expressive, more sinuous and light.”

Surridge was inspired by summer gardens and a Mediterranean feel, working on romantic floral prints without any hint of nostalgia. Treated digitally, the florals have an abstract, textural quality on long dresses in silk chiffon, loosely cut with swaying handkerchief hems. The dresses are worn underneath thick Aran cable sweaters or luxurious patchworked fur jackets. The daywear focus was also apparent in a series of trenchcoats; one had a zebra motif bleached on denim, while another was laser-cut in silk cady-bonded leather, with a fringed rock ’n’ roll detail on the back. Tailoring was definitely a strong point, which is not surprising given Surridge’s menswear background. A fitted tweed jacket with a dry, traditional hand had an equestrian flair; an elongated tuxedo jacket in black silk wool was shapely and accentuated.

Czech model Daniela Kocianova teams up with fashion photographer Giovanni Peschi for Roberto Cavalli‘s Pre-Fall 2018 womenswear collection lookbook. In charge of styling was Marie Chaix, with makeup from beauty artist Arianna Cattarin, and hair styling by Patti Bussa.