Dive Brief:
- Marquee Brands announced a definitive agreement to acquire a majority interest in Italian fashion house Roberto Cavalli, the company announced Wednesday. Dubai-based real estate developer Damac Group will remain a strategic partner.
- The transaction is expected to close in Q2 of 2026. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
- Milan-based The Level Group will act as the brand’s core operating partner and will manage women’s and men’s collections, along with handbags and footwear across Europe and the U.S.
Dive Insight:
Roberto Cavalli is preparing for “significant” expansion through its acquisition.
The luxury fashion house marks the 22nd brand in the Marquee Brands portfolio. It joins sister brands BCBG, A Pea in the Pod, Destination Maternity, Martha Stewart and Sur La Table, among others.
Through the deal, Marquee Brands will introduce new categories, services and touchpoints for the brand across Europe, the U.K., the U.S., the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Latin America. Damac plans to scale the fashion house’s presence through residences and hospitality projects.
Roberto Cavalli was acquired in 2019 by Vision Investments, a private investment company owned by Damac chairman Hussain Sajwani. The acquisition followed a 2017 partnership wherein Roberto Cavalli developed interiors for luxury hotels for the conglomerate.
“Roberto Cavalli is one of the most distinctive luxury brands in the world. After several years of solidifying the brand’s foundation, we set out to find a strategic partner with the skillset to take the brand to the next level,” Sajwani, founder of Damac Group, said in a statement. “We are confident Marquee Brands is the right partner to do so.”
Last June, Roberto Cavalli said it was considering strategic partnerships as a potential path to growth, according to news reports.
The announcement of the Cavalli sale comes on the heels of another brand manager scooping up a fashion house. Last week, WHP Global said that it is acquiring Marc Jacobs from LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. G-III Apparel Group has partnered with WHP Global in owning the brand.
Designer Roberto Cavalli was born in Florence in 1940. In 1970 his namesake brand debuted in Paris. In the decades that followed, Cavalli became known internationally, in part for his trademark animal prints. He stepped down from leading the fashion house in 2015.
