The picture above is from a recent shoot that stylist Nadia Pizzimenti worked on. She borrowed a couple of pieces from the shop for the shoot and this Roberto Cavalli silk snakeskin print gown was one of them.
I love love love this shot don't you?
I do not normally list newer-ish pieces on Shrimpton, but when I saw this gown I could not turn it down. It has a sexy, seventies vibe to it and is sure to be a future collectible. Cavalli is an odd designer in the sense that no one ever thinks of him as have been around for as long as he has. For some reason he seems to flash in and out of relevancy and does not really get credit for the longevity of his career. Maybe it's because he is stuck in a perpetual youth vault — his collections always veer towards that jet-set 20s something girl that you imagine can afford to spend most of her time flitting from yacht to yacht. Most likely on his arm by the way — he is a bit of a tanned yacht man-child himself isn't he?
His collections never really change season to season, but at the same time they never seem old or passe either. He has his groove and sticks to it. But he has been around for a long time. Cavalli actually started in 1972 and his first collections were all leather and patchwork (you can find some really amazing early Cavalli hand painted or patchwork leather pieces once in a while — if you do, and can grab them at a decent price — do! They will increase in value I promise)
Eventually Cavalli switched over to prints (though he still does a damn fine OTT coat) and has maintained a successful and steady design career since. Not such an easy accomplishment to keep going for this many years and be successful at it in this business, and yet he is never held to the same esteem as colleagues who have been in the game for the same amount of time. Again a consequence of finding his groove and sticking to it rather then pushing the envelope to get press. And sometime his stuff is not so great as a result to said groove sticking, but the flip side of that is pieces like this gown. It is perfectly in that groove and it shows — it is well constructed, beautiful, the perfect flattering line and drape, the exact right combination of attention getting print but without being tacky... .it is lovely and I love being able to show you it showcased on a beautiful girl.
And no Jenna does not yacht hop as far as I know. Yacht hopping is not actually a requirement to wear a Cavalli — they just give a girl the mindset to keep her options open, since she would have the right dress should the Yacht hopping opportunity arise.