Roberto Cavalli pulls out of Milan Fashion Week

The economic downturn has claimed its first major fashion scalp. At a hastily called and emotionally charged press conference on Thursday, Roberto Cavalli, arguably Italy's most flamboyant designer, revealed that he was cancelling the catwalk show for his secondary line, Just Cavalli, at Milan Fashion Week, which kicks off this weekend.

Cavalli (pictured), chain-smoking throughout, pointed the finger of blame at Ittiere, the company that controls 100 per cent of the Just Cavalli licence, a fact which he said was unfortunate (twice)."Deciding not to have a show was very hard for me but there have been problems. I don't want to go into them," he said, before doing just that, citing late deliveries and falling sales. "Just 18 months ago we were making $240m in annual turnover. Now that has fallen by a lot," he said. When asked by how much, he repeated, "A lot, a lot".

However, making the best of his situation, Cavalli showed models wearing his clothes in his boardroom, where the press conference took place. But there were only 20 outfits in total - heavily-studded and biker-inspired - which were all that had been delivered.

But he said: "I can't make a show with so few pieces. I don't like to do 50 per cent. For me, a fashion show is my adrenaline, my emotion. To decide not to show was, for me, very hard." The situation had, he added, led to "a tarnishing of a brand, the breaking of a brand; a brand that was made of gold."

Cavalli, however, did not touch on the real reason for his pulling out: Ittiere went into administration this month and IT Holding SpA, Ittiere's parent company, announced yesterday that it, too, was entering administration. This sent shockwaves though the fashion world as IT Holding also owns several other Italian labels, including Gianfranco Ferre, which was forced into sending out an urgent press release this week insisting its show will still go on.