Cavalli Partners with Tomorrow for Global Relaunch
Roberto Cavalli is embarking on a significant relaunch phase, guided by a new strategic partnership with Tomorrow, a London-based fashion incubator. Damac, Cavalli's owner, has selected Tomorrow to steer the Italian luxury label into a new era of international development. Stefano Martinetto, CEO and founder of Tomorrow, highlights Damac's substantial investment capabilities and ambitious vision for the brand, underscoring the strong foundation for this new chapter. Tomorrow, known for its equity partnerships with brands like Coperni and Martine Rose, and its extensive portfolio of distributed labels, including Hed Mayner, brings a wealth of experience and market insight to the collaboration.
This newly announced agreement definitively puts an end to recent speculation regarding a potential sale of the fashion business, currently led by creative director Fausto Puglisi. Instead, it signals the beginning of a "very deep" partnership between Cavalli and Tomorrow. Martinetto emphasizes the highly integrated nature of this collaboration, stating that Tomorrow will operate almost as an internal team, working closely with Cavalli's existing management. This close alignment is crucial for ensuring a cohesive and effective strategy moving forward.
Tomorrow's mandate within this partnership is comprehensive, spanning all commercial aspects of the Cavalli brand. This includes critical functions such as merchandising, category development, and the strategic implementation of collaborations and co-branding initiatives. Furthermore, Tomorrow will play a pivotal role in structuring marketing budgets and formulating robust go-to-market strategies. Martinetto illustrates the intensity of this integration, noting that the teams will work together for several hours each week, drawing parallels to successful projects like Zegna x Fear of God and Diesel Red Tag.
The selection of Tomorrow as a partner underscores Cavalli's ambition for rapid international expansion. As a global leader among multi-brand showrooms, Tomorrow brings significant scale and reach, having achieved €130 million in gross merchandise value (GMV) by 2025. Its operational footprint is extensive, with key offices in Milan, Paris, and Shanghai, complemented by its ownership of the US agency Goods and Services, which boasts branches in major American cities including New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Seattle.
The collaboration is set to officially commence next week, building on the recent success of Cavalli's co-branding with Skims. This particular initiative proved instrumental in rejuvenating the product's image, leveraging a high-impact advertising campaign that resulted in a total and immediate sell-out. Martinetto confirms that the immediate success experienced with Skims is a blueprint for future endeavors, signaling a strong focus on delivering similarly high-quality, impactful projects designed to resonate with contemporary audiences.
The strategic rollout of this partnership will occur in two distinct phases. The initial phase will target the EMEA and Asian markets, launching with the Fall/Winter 2026 season. The second phase, commencing in 2027, will focus on the crucial US market. Martinetto expresses optimism that the US can once again become Cavalli's most significant market, though he acknowledges the extensive preparation required. For the first year in the US, the strategy involves maintaining the market unchanged without introducing new channels, thereby allowing longstanding partners to fully capitalize on their existing investments and relationships.
Regarding distribution, Tomorrow intends to strategically rebalance Cavalli's sales channels by shifting the emphasis towards full-price channels and prioritizing specialist retailers. This move involves reducing the brand's relative weight in department stores and e-tailers. Martinetto explains this strategic decision by highlighting the strong performance of specialist retailers, particularly in North America and Asia, within an increasingly challenging market landscape where department stores and online retailers often face overstocking issues, leading to price-driven competition.
A key objective of the partnership is to significantly rejuvenate Cavalli's customer base, specifically targeting younger consumers. Martinetto observes that the company has not fully capitalized on the growing obsession with Cavalli among Gen Z and Millennials in recent years. The task at hand is to effectively reach these demographics through international channels, ensuring the brand resonates with a new generation of luxury consumers. Furthermore, the resort and cruise segments have been identified as vital strategic growth levers, with Martinetto foreseeing substantial opportunities for expansion within the brand's resort universe.
