{"product_id":"early-1970s-roberto-cavalli-navy-hand-painted-suede-shirtdress","title":"Early 1970s Roberto Cavalli Navy Hand-Painted Suede Shirtdress","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRoberto Cavalli, early 1970s.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNavy hand-painted and printed suede shirtdress. The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds this design in its Costume Institute.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCavalli was a painter before he was a designer. This dress carries both of his founding techniques at once: imagery printed onto suede by the method he patented, and stems and grasses painted directly onto the hide by hand.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eThe Piece\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMidnight navy suede, cut as a shirtdress. An exaggerated pointed collar. A western yoke, front and back, with a serpentine seam. Collar, yoke and cuffs are edged in a narrow band of suede printed with a fine ivory floral vine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDogwood blossoms in blush, coral and ivory, with metallic centers and sage leaves, are printed onto suede and set into the bodice, the collar points, the back yoke and the deep turn-back cuffs. A trailing spray crosses the curved drop-waist seam. Below it, painted stems rise across the skirt into further blossoms, front and back.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe half placket ends in a rounded tab and closes with navy enamel flower snaps with copper centers, the signature hardware of the period. The skirt flares gently to a curved hem with rounded side vents. Every edge and appliqué is finished in contrast zigzag stitching.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eIn the Met\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds this design: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.metmuseum.org\/art\/collection\/search\/137528\"\u003eRoberto Cavalli, Ensemble, ca. 1971 (2007.171.3a, b)\u003c\/a\u003e, gift of Pamela Barry Matalon, 2007.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eThe Provenance\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the wardrobe of Fran Ornstein, whose mother was president of Crissa, the label Cavalli designed for during his founding period. She acquired the dress on release and kept it for more than fifty years.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePart of Cavalli's lost first chapter: the founding-period work his later fame obscured, rediscovered in a single wardrobe and documented in \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reracked.com\/pages\/cavalli\"\u003eRoberto Cavalli: The Painted Years\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eIn Vogue\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Painted Years was featured in Vogue, September 2026, by senior archives editor Laird Borrelli-Persson, who described the collection as \"poster-like art on animal skin.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003ca href=\"[VOGUE%20ARTICLE%20URL]\"\u003eRead the Vogue feature\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eThe Designer\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCavalli's patented leather printing drew commissions from Hermès and Pierre Cardin. His 1971 Patchwork collection was shown in the Sala Bianca of the Palazzo Pitti in Florence in 1972. Couture audiences dismissed it at first. Then photographs of Brigitte Bardot in a Cavalli printed jacket in Saint-Tropez made his work a fixture of fashionable European wardrobes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe animal prints and red carpets of 1990s Cavalli became so dominant that this first chapter largely disappeared from public memory. No other 1970s Roberto Cavalli clothing is currently offered on 1stDibs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eAlso in Museum Collections\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Metropolitan Museum of Art: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.metmuseum.org\/art\/collection\/search\/155706\"\u003eSuit, ca. 1974 (2009.300.1035a, b)\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFIDM Museum: \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/asufidmmuseum.asu.edu\/learn\/articles\/roberto-cavalli-poncho-c-1970\"\u003ePoncho, c. 1970\u003c\/a\u003e, with appliquéd printed and painted leather\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eCondition\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGood vintage condition, with signs of age honest to a piece that was worn and kept. There is tonal variation in the suede nap throughout and light surface marks at the collar. Both are disclosed in photographs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCare: suede specialist cleaning only.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4\u003eMeasurements\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAvailable upon request.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Roberto Cavalli","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50328595431674,"sku":null,"price":24000.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0400\/7860\/6488\/files\/Reracked-Cavalli12238-web.jpg?v=1789425863","url":"https:\/\/reracked.com\/products\/early-1970s-roberto-cavalli-navy-hand-painted-suede-shirtdress","provider":"RERACKED","version":"1.0","type":"link"}