Roberto Cavalli On Blogging, What Makes A Woman Sexy, and His New Fragrance

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Roberto Cavalli has a lot to say and, lucky for us, he has plenty of ways to say it. While he keeps his fans abreast of his business news through Twitter and delves into everything from his dog to his son's ventures in breeding racehorses on his blog, we sat down with the Italian designer and his wife/business partner, Eva, to talk about something new: Robert Cavalli Eau de Parfum.

He kept his shades on and took his press sensors off, speaking candidly about what type of fragrance he prefers on a woman (here's a hint: it's more minimal than head-to-toe animal print). We should have guessed we were in for a fun chat when a fellow interviewer posed the question "Who is the woman you envision wearing the fragrance? What does she look like? What does she do for a living? What does she wear?" and Cavalli simply growled "Eva."

Eva: It's a woman with character, a strong woman with a lot of fantasy. She wants to be special, she wants to be a little bit out of the rules. She's a little bit feline. But she's romantic at the same time.

Roberto: It is the kind of woman that I love especially. You know, sometimes not the beauty. Eva's right. It's a fantasy. Because perfume, there are so many. So many. The popular thing today is to make a perfume. To be sure, the name, yes, that is enough. But I know that my fans expect something special. I know because I feel it. Because I write my blog, I write my Twitter. It's good. I enjoy making questions sometimes because my fans will ask something. They say, "What do you suggest?" And they love it because I say, I need your help! And they write me back. You have to understand that they expect something.

Every time I start my collection I say, Oh my god what do they expect from me? And with the perfume, even more because a collection is every six months; with one perfume, it's every few years. People say, "What's the difference between this perfume with the other before it?" For me, the other before doesn't exist. This is my first fragrance. Because I made this fragrance with Coty [Prestige], one company that follows me, we speak, we understand, we make.

Eva: It took, like, one year to prepare.

Roberto: Exactly. Starting together, the communication is very important. They really expect a lot in communication. But we enjoy it. Honest. I enjoy it because it's something new. When I do my fashion, when I design clothes, I say that it has to be feminine, has to be sexy, has to be romantic. The fragrance was exactly the same. From the twenty-five [fragrances], we arrived at the last five. After, we arrived at the last two. The two won and after was the winner. It was only then we decided on the winner! And believe me—I don't know if you've tried it, but it's very nice.

Eva: It's very special because we did the launch in–When did we launch in Italy?

Roberto: October.

Eva: And after I didn't have the exact one yet. So the other day I met a friend of mine and she had this fragrance on but I didn't know and I said, "Oh you have something on?" And she said, "It's Cavalli." I really was very proud and very happy. It's a very good scent, very special, very uncommon. It makes you dream.

Racked: To you, what makes a woman attractive? And how do you think a scent increases her sex appeal?

Roberto: That is a very hard question. I have to tell you my secret. Every man has a secret. I would like to answer just because we are talking about perfume. I would like to tell you I love a woman by the perfume that she wears. But maybe, as a man, I should be more vulgar: I prefer the perfume of the skin.

Eva: The natural.

Roberto: (Laughs.) Maybe I shouldn't say that.

Eva: Just a few drops can help to translate your natural scent.

Roberto: That is something because it's true. I think it's feminine. What I love is the femininity in one woman. That is the point. Perfume is a delicate taste; it is the sweet part of one woman. When we're talking about femininity, I don't like too much perfume, you understand. Like Eva said, two drops are enough. In everything.

Racked: What are the most seductive places a woman should be spritzing her perfume?

Roberto: (Speaking in Italian.)

Translator: In the back of the earring.

Eva: I think everybody–every woman –should discover her place, where she wants someone special to—

Roberto: In the middle of the breasts.

Racked: We've so enjoyed reading your blog—

Roberto: You know my blog? You read my blog? I'm so proud of it because I just started it.

Racked: Well, you mentioned on there that you expect the fragrance to be a great success all over the world. And we were wondering if there's a particular nationality or a particular type of woman that you think would be really drawn to this fragrance?

Roberto: I didn't think about that. No, I don't, because when we are talking about the woman, I don't have one nationality that I prefer. Really. I judge one woman from the eyes. The eyes! There are the people who read the future. You know why I tell you that? Because you know everybody knows that we read the future from the hands. No, I could be able to read the future if you cut out everything but the eyes. Oh really, you can see so much of many things from one eye, one woman. I don't know, you can laugh about it. I say, Ok I will write it in the blog and after you will tell me!
· Roberto Cavalli Official Site
· All Roberto Cavalli Coverage [Racked]