Roberto Cavalli Spring Summer 2026 “Gold Obsession”. Story by RUNWAY MAGAZINE. Photo Courtesy: Roberto Cavalli.

Fausto Puglisi has never been one to whisper. At Roberto Cavalli, silence would be out of place. Spring Summer 2026 was branded Best of GoldObsession, and it did exactly that: a maximalist declaration of shine, texture, and body-conscious excess at a time when much of fashion seems preoccupied with restraint.

Gold was everywhere, and everywhere loud. Karen Elson’s sunray pleated gown was pure Hollywood fantasy, interrupted only by the deliberately casual pairing with flat sandals. Denim was stripped of any utilitarian modesty — treated, textured, and transformed into something feral. Silk velvet dévoré slip dresses shimmered with tactile intensity, their dimensional surfaces daring the hand as much as the eye.

This was Cavalli at its core: unapologetic skin, unashamed sequins, and animal instincts writ large. Cut-outs carved through bodysuits and cocktail dresses, while tiger stripes exploded in sequined excess. The brand codes were executed faithfully; Puglisi clearly knows the archive and its hedonistic vocabulary.

Yet for all the gold and glitter, one sensed the absence of Puglisi’s more idiosyncratic obsessions — the Carrara marble, the Pompeian frescoes, the mythic references that once made his vision more personal, more surprising. The collection, though dazzling, felt like an echo chamber: Cavalli perfected, Cavalli repeated, Cavalli restrained by the weight of its own legacy.

Opulence will always have a place on the runway, and Cavalli remains its most flamboyant custodian. But in 2026, relevance depends not just on fidelity to brand codes but on the injection of personal fire. For Cavalli to thrive in the mid-2020s, Puglisi must find space for his own inner wild child — because even gold can lose its shine without a pulse behind it.

See All Looks Roberto Cavalli Spring Summer 2026