The to start with time I met my good friend Federica “Kikka” Cavenati, it took me about 10 minutes to realise how wonderful she was. And that is actually expressing a little something, because Kikka was almost nothing if not lovely – shiny copper hair, substantial Bambi eyes, the kind of pillowy lips that women pay a whole lot for, and great teeth with just ample character to be disarming.
But that was not what hit me 1st, because before all that – when Kikka threw her arms open up to greet me, inspite of our under no circumstances possessing fulfilled – what I observed was her chortle. It was the sort of snicker that you might simply call a cackle if it wasn’t so sweet, but you also wouldn’t get in touch with it a giggle since it was much too all-encompassing. She gave it generously – whether or not she was seeing her puppy Ralph act “girl crazy”, or assisting you out of a pair of heels (since she never deemed herself higher than having down on the floor to best the line of an outfit, even if she experienced the bearing of a 1920s Italian aristocrat). Her chortle created foolish issues appear to be vital and unfortunate points seem to be amusing and every thing look great. And her natural beauty, so effortless to wax on about, paled in comparison to how attractive she designed other women come to feel. Not just the gals she was developing for, but the women she achieved as she went about her working day – every person from the waitress to the style assistant to the mother of the bride. Kikka lived to help other girls recognise their splendor, and that high-quality was inherent to her own.
Was. I’ve been told lots of situations about the awful cruelty of declaring “was” about a vital human being, a healthier individual, a human being who feels – in each individual conceivable way – existing. But I have never ever felt that truth in the sharp way I do about Kikka. Her giggle – remembering it and celebrating it – has been one of the only approaches to make sense of the simple fact that she handed away nearly a few weeks ago. After a limited and sudden health issues – Kikka was a lively and existing person who showed up to life with Olympic vigour, and she will not be remembered as unwell – we shed Kikka at age 28.
Kikka was, by trade, a manner designer. Alongside with her lover in operate and enjoy, Marco Capaldo, Kikka launched 16Arlington, a label that has single-handedly redefined the spirit of London manner and specified design back its folly and joy. Kikka’s feeling of perform, blended with the demanding abilities of sewing, draping and healthy that she and Marco honed when finding out at the London arm of Istituto Marangoni, meant that she had a existence in her industry considerably beyond her decades. Kikka cherished style with a funds F – sherbet colors, luxe textures and the dissonance of informal-put on when paired with a pop of drama. She brought the old entire world hysteria of a Bob Mackie-period Cher collectively with a race-car or truck sleekness, and even her perfectly fitting informal-dress in – a leather shirt, a satin pant – was usually possessed of a wild detail, like a comically big collar coming to a issue, or a bow twisted from an unforeseen substance like leather or thick brocade.
