At an age when corporate leaders tend to make way for new blood, fashion icon Roberto Cavalli is venturing into a new industry that he hopes will transform his business.
And the UAE will be the centre of all the action, with the 68-year-old designer's flagship new food and beverage venue, set to open on Sheikh Zayed Road this November.
The €11 million (Dh63m) luxury leisure attraction will be located on the first floor of the Fairmont Dubai and is being brought to fruition by the Pragma Group, a UAE-based investment, outsourcing and business incubation company. The company's Chairman, Joe Tabet, describes it as "a unique concept that will set new standards, a must-experience destination, a landmark".
Similar venues are expected to open in "all the big cities of the world including the Middle East," says Tabet. Cavalli has already identified the second venue – he's likely to open in Florence at the end of next year, followed by Milan, Las Vegas and Moscow.
"Dubai reflects the third millennium. It will open the windows of the world onto this project," the designer, who is clearly in love with the shiny Emirate, told Emirates Business in an exclusive interview. "My dream is to show I can give Dubai a lot," he says. Cavalli expects it to be popular with both tourists and residents.
"Roberto Cavalli was looking for an international launch pad for his dream concept, and we were searching for a first-class international project to develop so it complements our current portfolio in the lifestyle segment," says Tabet. "We crossed at the right time."
Cavalli's clothes have long been popular on the celebrity circuit worldwide. His fashion empire straddles garment lines for men, women and children, as well as perfumes, watches, shoes and eyewear. These collections retail in more than 50 countries.
In recent years, he has also diversified beyond his core business into beverages and hospitality. The high-profile Tuscan designer opened his first café-store in Florence in 2002, and followed it with Just Cavalli café in Milan.
All express the same philosophy as his fashion, he says: "Positivity and freedom, celebration of life and joy."
Italian designers, having successfully launched interiors lines, are now an emerging force in the global hospitality industry. Besides a chain of super-luxury hotels with Emaar Properties, Giorgio Armani, for instance, runs Armani Nobu restaurant and an Armani Privé dance spot in Milan as well as a range of Emporio Armani cafés, including one at the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai.
The Gold Coast Palazzo Versace hotel has long been a big draw for royalty and celebrities alike, and another on Dubai Creek is part of a planned portfolio of four, while Dolce & Gabbana launched its Milan eatery, Gold, in 2006. Bulgari and Missoni are among the other brands to open designer hotels in a bid to take their empires beyond the catwalks.
A Roberto Cavalli hotel could quite possibly be next. "I have a few offers, but I'm still deciding whom to go with," says the designer who counts A-list beauties Jennifer Lopez and Victoria Beckham as friends.
"My creativity extends in many directions. For me, experimentation and research is the main source of my work. Such brand extension experiences give me the possibility to challenge my art and creativity in different areas; this excites me and inspires me a lot."
In the UAE, Cavalli is the latest in a long string of celebrities hoping to cash in on their names by extending their brands into other sectors. Among the most recent is Karl Lagerfeld, who signed an exclusive deal with Dubai Infinity Holdings in July, to design limited-edition homes on Isla Moda, the dedicated fashion island, which is part of the manmade The World archipelago.
And while marketing specialists may say it isn't easy to extend a product-based industry such as fashion into an experience-led one such as food service, Cavalli, however, believes his signature joie de vivre approach to design is enough to bring the punters in.
"A Cavalli customer for fashion will find the same feeling that he or she receives from my clothes when they step into my club," he says.
The 2500-square-metre Dubai venue is four times the size of his Milan restaurant. It sprawls over two floors and has its own separate entrance from the hotel. And fittingly for the retail capital of the Middle East, it has been created as a versatile space that marries shopping with nightlife.
"It will accommodate lots of people, at different times of the day and in different situations – from the restaurant to the bar, to the club," says the designer. "It is an expression of the Cavalli lifestyle concept and everything has been designed and created exclusively for this," he says.
As you might expect, the interiors reflect his high-voltage design sensibilities. The floors are done in shiny black quartz with crystal dust that shines lights and shapes throughout the space, and six-metre high walls dripping with Swarovski crystals create a uniquely urban space.
On the ground floor, the entrance foyer leads to an intimate boutique displaying jewellery, watches and the most-exclusive accessories from the Cavalli Maison, as well as a deli-style selection of Italy's finest foods.
The top floor serves up a variety of sensory and gastronomic experiences. An elegant Italian restaurant takes pride of place in the centre, flanked by two large, suspended atolls done in gold glass and fur, hosting sushi and beverages, offering Cavalli-branded chocolates and drinks. And off to the side, another lounge offers a getaway from the getaway, with music from some of the world's best DJs keeping the tempo at fever pitch until the early hours.
The all-day concept will serve the light lunch, lunch, aperitif, pre-dinner, dinner and disco sets. "This much-anticipated debut is something that has not yet been seen on the entertainment landscape in Dubai," says Kamal Naamani, General Manager of Fairmont Dubai. "It will further strengthen our culinary portfolio."
Meanwhile, Pragma's Tabet expects the new venue to shake up the leisure business in the UAE, which is seeing the launch of several new concepts, such as Embassy at Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi and a top-end venue at Sol Kerzner's Atlantis on The Palm Jumeirah. "You can expect the UAE to be the launch pad for many similar concepts in the region and internationally. The UAE market is growing at an exponential pace, especially the upper segment, and the first worldwide Cavalli outlet will focus worldwide attention on the country and set new standards in this area, which will create a positive impact on the overall leisure market here."
CAVALLI: THE DESIGNER LIFER
Roberto Cavalli prefers to see himself as an artist first. "I came to fashion from art," he says, adding that he is inspired by beauty and happiness. "And women."
He was born in Florence on November 15, 1940, to an artistic family. A student of the local Art Institute, he specialised in textile prints and caught the attention of Italian hosiery factories with a series of flower prints on knit. Among his design contributions are a revolutionary printing procedure on leather, printed denim, sand-blasted jeans, and a now-famous patchwork of different materials.
He has been involved with designing mobile telephones and Coca-Cola bottles. Last year, he collaborated with high-street retailer H&M, where his clothes sold out in 45 minutes of going on sale.
In April, word broke that Cavalli wanted to sell his core business for €2bn (Dh11.4bn), but after lower valuations than expected, he called off sales talks.
Once a professional breeder of race horses, he continues to own "80 to 90, not many". He and his wife Eva live with their children outside Florence. When he can, he says, he gets away by relaxing on his 41-metre yacht, "sailing in the Mediterranean sea with all my mobiles off!"
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