Target demographic

TARGET Australia brought veteran designer Roberto Cavalli to Australia to launch his capsule collection for its stores.

Roberto Cavalli and wife Eva

TARGET Australia brought veteran designer Roberto Cavalli to Australia to launch his capsule collection for its stores but yesterday he seemed more interested in matters of the heart.

Cavalli, 71, spent some time in the press conference at Sydney's Park Hyatt reminiscing about a passionate and fleeting encounter with an Australian woman during his wilder days.

Perhaps the meeting of minds enabled the charming Italian to better understand the Australian psyche because his accessible range of dresses, swimsuits and accessories at Target are perfect for our casual approach to dressing up and getting down.

"My fashion is my art," Cavalli says. "Fashion is international. Girls everywhere watch the same video clips and see the same photographs."

Most of the 42-piece collection for Target is priced between $49 and $99, with one statement zebra-print trench coat selling for $129. The stars of the range are the accessories, with quirky animal-print ballet flats priced at $59. Cavalli was less eager to pick a favourite, calling all the pieces his children.

Cavalli has collaborated with mass retailers before, working with European chain H&M in 2007. That collection sold out on its first day in Milan, Hong Kong and London. With a lower profile in Australia, Cavalli is managing his expectations when the range goes on sale in Target stores and online today. "I tried to do something interesting for the Australian girl," he says. "It is artistic and has my signature prints."

For 42 years Cavalli has created clothing with a sexy vibe for the Italian market with a heavy-handed use of animal skins and prints that are popular with Taylor Swift, Kylie Minogue and almost every television personality in Rome. The company has a growing presence in the US, and this year launched flagship stores in Tokyo and Hong Kong. Gazing out at Sydney Harbour, Cavalli says Australia could be next. "I have to be here in Australia," Cavalli says. "We need Australia."

During his working holiday Cavalli will attend Derby Day at Flemington as a guest of Lavazza before seeking inspiration in Alice Springs.

Clothes mates
DANNII Minogue was determined her fashion line would have "kudos and longevity". The X-Factor judge and former soapie star set up the Project D label with her friend Tabitha Somerset Webb in 2010. They had a firm idea of what they wanted to achieve when they started out.

"We both had concerns about how we were going to run a company and keep our friendship. We also agreed we wanted this to be a fashion line with kudos and longevity, not just another celebrity-endorsed product," she told the British edition of Grazia magazine.

Minogue and Somerset Webb are best pals and think their close bond has helped the label be a success. They get excited when they see people in their creations, famous or not.

"Designing and seeing the collections in action - spotting people like Kate and Pippa Middleton, who own Project D London pieces, wearing them - is better than I could ever had imagined, and Tabs and I trip over the smallest things, like one woman emailing to tell us ours is the only dress she feels confident in," Minogue said.

The label is available in Australia at David Jones.

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