Today, I was reading the biography of Roberto Cavalli, trying to understand his creative journey from an artistic point of view. “The fabric artist from Florence” — this is how he entered the backstage of the fashion houses of the 70s. He played on the fine line between vulgarity and style, gifting us with wild prints and distressed jeans. His tiger and leopard fabrics elicited both awe and ridicule. “I just copy God; He’s the best artist,” the designer said.
Then came the perfumes. I explored them purposefully, out of professional interest. The acquaintance was brief and uninteresting, but Serpentine caught my attention. Golden liquid, golden snakes dancing on the bottle: elegant, dangerous, impeccably perfect.
The fragrance is undoubtedly about Woman. When I think of her, I always remember Nagaina from Rikki-Tikki-Tavi. For some reason, this character seemed positive to me since childhood. She knows the meanings of love and loyalty, care and self-sacrifice. She is feared and hated for her mere existence, and even her enemies admire her strength and beauty. After the death of her beloved, Nagaina avenges him ruthlessly, maintaining the mesmerizing grace of poisonous elegance.
Serpentine caresses with a sultry sweetness, the sweetness of tropical flowers and sticky mango pulp, weaving into the skin with the venom of gardenias. Definitely, its time is night.
I couldn’t wear it. With childlike naivety, I looked at this woman, Nagaina, realizing how unlike her I was.
Just Cavalli I bought spontaneously, from an online store and without testing it, guided by a hamster-like greed. I didn’t even unpack it right away, leaving it for later. And then the golden bottle with the snake ring fit comfortably in my hand. A spritz on the wrist — and summer was turned on at full volume.
This is exactly how I remember the hot months of summer vacations smelling. Sweet floral humidity, the scents of dry grass, and warm, windless nights. I wore it in the heat, and it blended seamlessly into the atmosphere, making it intoxicating. I wore it in the cold, and it brought me back to summer.
I look at the empty bottle with the snake cap and realize that it will repeat in my collection again and again, like summer days.