Roberto Cavalli was born in Florence in 1940 and launched his namesake brand there in 1970, with a leather patchwork collection shown in Paris. He opened a small shop called Limbo in Saint-Tropez in 1972, and the first women's collection was shown the same year at the Sala Bianca of Palazzo Pitti. While other major Italian designers moved to Milan, he stayed in Florence, and he later invented and patented a leather printing process. The animal prints that now define the house became its hallmark after the Fashion Week collection of 1994. The dresses here show the range. The Kimono Print Midi Dress in green and black has a sequined mini sibling, the Floral Cheetah-Print Mock Turtleneck Mini Dress is the loudest, and Ray of Paradise appears as a silk backless slip dress. The belted ruffled sheer silk gown and the lace and velvet gown are quieter, and the Flammingo maxi is for a long summer dinner. If a print dress feels like a lot, a plain gold sandal and bare shoulders are enough, and slip dresses are easy to borrow ideas from.

Cavalli took frequent inspiration from nature, with animal prints and fish scale sequins, and the blouses are where that reads most clearly. The Printed Blouse in Pink Jaguar, the Leopard-Print Silk Button-Down Shirt and the Floral Cheetah-Print One-Sleeve Blouse each treat the animal print as a pattern in its own right. The Miami Flowers Print Chiffon Neck-Tie Blouse is the softer choice, and the Trompe l'œil silk shirt plays a visual joke. The Ray Of Paradise off the shoulder crop top has puff sleeves and the Silver Destroyed Lace Top is made for the evening. What I would skip is stacking two prints in one outfit, like the leopard shirt with the cheetah blouse. Pick one loud top and let the trousers stay plain. For ideas on shoes, animal print shoes show how others handle a single wild accent.

Cavalli's denim history is on the record: printed jeans in 1988, sandblasted jeans in 1994 and stretch jeans in 1995. That explains why the trousers here feel so confident. The Flared Stretch Drill Jeans in Zebra Print and the Floral Cheetah-Print Low-Rise Flare Trousers are the headline pieces, and the High-Rise Colorblock Floral Printed Flare Trousers add a bolder palette. The Floral Low-Rise Straight-Leg Jeans are the calmer cut, and the leopard print denim shorts are the most casual. The Roses Jaguar Printed Blazer is the only jacket in the group and works over any plain top. The Trompe l'œil flared pants and Silver Trousers are good for a night when a dress seems too obvious. For another way into a zebra pattern, see zebra pants and how they are worn.

The house is also at ease away from clothes. The Floral halterneck swimsuit, the Leopard-print cutout swimsuit and the Kimono Print bikini bottom go with a printed sarong and a leopard print silk beach cover-up, and cover-ups that do more work shows how to wear the last of those. The Printed Belted Mini Shirtdress and the Catsuit are for evenings out. The Serpentine Parfum and the Palazzo Pitti fine bone china tea and coffee pot, along with the coffee cup and saucer, nod to the Florence story. Six quartz watches finish the group, among them the Aurora, the Serpente Ornato and the Snake Core, and the round dress watch is a good guide to how a link bracelet sits on the wrist.

Roberto Cavalli died in April 2024 at 83, and Fausto Puglisi has been creative director since October 2020. What I would build around is one print and one plain thing: the zebra jeans with a white tee, or a cheetah dress with bare legs and flat sandals. The house has always been about confidence more than restraint, and that is the right spirit to bring to it. Choose the print you would happily be seen in twice, then keep every other piece quiet around it.

To round out the look, see Significant Other Dresses and Swimwear and Frankies Bikinis Knitwear & Dresses.