Puglisi went wild with the tiger theme, perhaps a little too wild with the wicked, claw-like heels on pumps and the gorgeous metallic brocades that were slashed to smithereens. The designer cited a slipdress from the early Aughts worn by by Cindy Crawford as the springboard for the spring 2022 collection.

But you have to admire his guts and design chops for finding something new to say with nature’s most arresting Africa motifs.

There were tiger-motif dresses with gouged-out midriffs or nosebleed side slits for steamy editorials and music stars, and handsome and regal robes and strong-shouldered blazers for a woman who walks on the elegant side of wild.

This was only Puglisi’s second collection for Cavalli, and his first live runway show in a series of rooms at the baroque Palazzo Clerici, which he roughed up with clear plastic painting tarp and a rugged wooden boardwalk.