At 72, Roberto Cavalli has been around the block a few times. But with his impressive new leathery fragrance, Just Cavalli For Him, the Italian designer is not done with the fashion industry just yet. He tells Esquire his most treasured lessons to date.
“My definition of courage is never being afraid of yourself, taking risks and living life to the fullest”
My mother always taught me to be myself and believe in my abilities. She especially taught me that anything is possible if you are determined to achieve it.
It is a moral obligation to not be afraid. That’s the best lesson my father ever taught me, and I always live by it. To me, the biggest definition of risk is knowing you’re taking a risk, but having no fear.
The key to happiness is never giving up. Perseverance is the key to success and, in many cases, happiness.
The best thing about being me is my determination and my strength in character.
My definition of courage is never being afraid of yourself, taking risks and living life to the fullest.
People have many misconceptions about me prior to meeting me in person. I think perhaps that nobody expects me to be shy, so that surprises most people when they meet me.
If I could meet anybody in the history of the world, it would be Gandhi.
The best thing I’ve done with my money is dedicating my time to charity causes, especially [Aids research foundation] amFar.
A cure for hiccups? So far I have not found an answer.
My biggest regret is not spending enough time with my children due to my career and success. But they are my proudest achievement. I am so proud of them.
The book that has had the biggest impact on my life is Tiziano Terzani’s La Fine e il Mio Inizio (‘The End is My Beginning’). He was a war reporter for the German newspaper Der Spiegel who spent most of his life living in various parts of Asia and lived through a number of wars in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. The book is about him learning about himself as a man.
I love the mystery of women. I wouldn’t like to know everything about women, because the best part of women is discovering new things about them day after day.
Luck is the ability to have spare time and spend it however you want. Time is probably the biggest gift and privilege you can have.
My ambition now is to travel the world. I’ve been lucky enough to see so many places but there are still so many I still want to see. I couldn’t possibly pick a single one.
If my new fragrance was a man, it would be the face of the new fragrance, Brazilian model Marlon Teixeira. Why? Because he’s positive, young and modern. Just Cavalli Him is a young and fresh fragrance with a strong and charismatic personality and represents a man who is not afraid to be himself, takes risks and who is incredibly confident. I would say Marlon fits that description well.