Roberto Cavalli on the runway Menswear Spring 2009 Milan
Roberto Cavalli on the runway Menswear Spring 2009 Milan

MILAN, Jul 9, 2008 / FW/ — Roberto Cavalli fans, rejoice! The Roberto Cavalli label is staying in the hands of its founder for at least another year. The Italian designer has taken his fashion house off the market citing the global financial crisis as the reason.

In an interview with Italian financial daily Il Sole 24, Roberto Cavalli was quoted saying that he was not selling for 800 – 900 million euros. Merrill Lynch had valued the company at 1.4 billion euros (about $2.19 billion with the current exchange rate.)

Now, the sale of his company might be off, but Roberto Cavalli’s trip to Vietnam to judge the 2008 Miss Universe Beauty Pageant is still on. The Miss Universe Organization announced July 7 that Donald Trump Jr., Roberto Cavalli; Nadine Velazquez, Jennifer Hawkins (Miss Universe 2004), Louis Licari, and John Nguyen will be the judges for the beauty contest.

As previously announced, Jerry Springer and Mel B will host the live telecast of the 57th Annual Miss Universe competition being held at the Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa, Vietnam. The competition will air live NBC (simulcast on Telemundo) from the Crown Convention Center in Nha Trang, Khanh Hoa, Vietnam on Sunday, July 13th at 9:00 p.m. ET (delayed PT).

[SARA CONDE]

Photo above: Roberto Cavalli on the runway, Milan Menswear Spring 2009 season, photo by Lisa Helm