Fashion
Roberto Cavalli’s legacy and Fausto Puglisi’s creative vision come together in the 2026 “Ray of Paradise” capsule, reinterpreting the brand’s iconic prints through a modern, Mediterranean-inspired approach.
Updated 05:04 pm EDT, August 5, 2026
Published 12:27 pm EDT, June 10, 2026
PHOTO COURTESY: ROBERTO CAVALLI
Roberto Cavalli’s legacy and Fausto Puglisi’s creative vision come together in the 2026 “Ray of Paradise” capsule, reinterpreting the brand’s iconic prints through a modern, Mediterranean-inspired approach.
Updated 05:04 pm EDT, August 5, 2026
Published 12:27 pm EDT, June 10, 2026
PHOTO COURTESY: ROBERTO CAVALLI
Roberto Cavalli, in his time, was fabulous with no apologies to his maximalist, sensual, animal‑print–driven aesthetic. He worked terribly hard to build a highly successful fashion house, all while having a great deal of fun. His brand became synonymous with glamorous, high‑octane fashion.
Currently, the house is led by Fausto Puglisi as creative director, a role he assumed in October 2020. His career and aesthetic are deeply shaped by Sicilian heritage, pop culture, and a lifelong attraction to maximalist glamour, which have made him a perfect fit for the Cavalli brand. Puglisi was born in Messina, Sicily, a gorgeous ancient port with almost 3,000 years of history. Fausto later moved to New York and launched his own label in 2010. He served as the creative director for Emanuel Ungaro before landing the creative director position at Roberto Cavalli.
Today, we are admiring the brand’s 2026 summer capsule called “Ray of Paradise,” which represents the natural evolution of the iconic Ray of Gold and Ray of Sea prints. If you are a fan of Cavalli, you will recognize these heritage motifs and their importance in Cavalli’s visual world. Ray of Gold is a print built around radiating sunburst lines. It is a bold, luminous image that represents the Mediterranean heat and glamour. The Ray of Sea print is a cooler, aquatic reinterpretation of the ray motif, which is inspired by marine light, waves, and underwater refraction.
Fausto’s new interpretation reinforces the print’s enduring importance to the brand. A fascinating aspect of the new interpretation of these prints is that they now morph into suggestions of animalier imagery instead of literal interpretations. Animalier is a fashion term for animal‑inspired prints, patterns, and textures. So in the new capsule, the prints are structured to evoke, for example, a butterfly wing, which is a foundation of the brand’s aesthetic.
“Ray of Paradise” uses some unique color combinations that make the overall collection extremely interesting. The first color palette is based on warm coal tones, and the other is a multicolored palette that intermingles lilac and mint green. All the palettes were inspired by a psychedelic sunset in Ibiza, where twilight hues resonate in multiple colors that balance rather than compete for supremacy.
The prints are used sinuously throughout the collection, creating cohesion and offering up a fashion story that links the prêt-à-porter, beachwear, and accessories within the capsule.
For women, one particular style highlighted in the collection is the “Profumo” chiffon dress. This dress is the collection’s key piece, capturing the essence of the new prints while combining them with Cavalli’s bold, more graphic vision. Slip dresses, both long and in mini versions, shirt dresses, kaftans, and catsuits alternate with slim flared trousers inspired by the Seventies. The looks have a distinctly Ibizan hippie flair, which is visually delightful. The
collection also includes shorts, tops, and lightweight shirts paired with coordinated bandanas, as well as jersey dresses featuring wide chiffon butterfly sleeves.
There is also a cotton poplin dress with a full gathered tiered skirt, which was a distinctive interpretation of a 1950’s look. The women’s beachwear presented included one-piece swimsuits, bikinis, maxi silk “pareo” scarves (rectangular or square pieces of silk traditionally worn as a wrap), and cover-ups, paired with coordinated beach towels. So that the well-dressed festive visitor to the beaches can be not only well prepared but visually stunning as well, and one could not be a Cavalli enthusiast without a pair of jeweled sandals and a pair of flats.
Another extremely fascinating technique that the capsule uses is the “Ray Satin Devoré” print in monochrome black and white. This print is a fabric concept that uses the brand’s Ray motif rendered in satin devoré (burnout) technique, executed in a black‑and‑white palette for a sharper, more graphic interpretation. It is a sophisticated, elegant technique that further enhances the fabric’s texture.
Men’s clothes were also presented in this capsule. A favorite outfit was the silk pajamas, in both long and short versions, paired with silk and cotton T-shirts. An ivory linen suit added a tailored summer touch, while the brand also presented less formal beachwear. The men’s beachwear ranged from Speedos (a well known favorite of Cavalli) to boxer shorts, maintaining the brand’s focus on effortless style but with maximalist intent.
In analyzing the new capsule collection, we can see that Cavalli is building a trilogy of prints: Ray of Gold, Ray of Sea, and Ray of Paradise. This is a long-term strategy to expand the Ray motif into new colors and uses. Animalier, which was Roberto Cavalli’s signature foundation, is shifting from literal leopard or zebra prints to a hybrid of morphing forms. Cavalli has become sharper, more graphic, and modernized through Fausto’s maximalist, popinfused lens.
Fausto Puglisi has spent his early years stabilizing and modernizing the house, and now he is confident enough to begin imprinting his own aesthetic on Cavalli without compromising the brand’s originality. Avessa cannot wait to see his further innovations.
Recovering from an obsession with Italian-designed menswear, Alfonso decided to take a deeper look into women’s fashion to see how our relationship among clothing, society, and business has changed. Educated as an economist with an MBA, he travels between Chicago, Miami, and Mexico on a search to see what happens next to fashion.
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