Sensuality is a trend Ermanno Scervino doesn’t need to tap into—his penchant for a womanly woman has always been there. “Give them ammunition for classy seduction” has been his enduring mantra, and many customers are apparently on his side: Being helped in seduction tactics by an understanding designer who provides a wardrobe fit for the task saves a lot of time and energy. There’s nothing to feel guilty about it, is there?
Fall didn’t stray from familiar Scervino territory. The Florentine designer played on his favorite masculine-feminine dynamic, offering his tried-and-true opposites-attract recipe. A masculine coat paired with a hyperfeminine dress is always a sure hit chez Scervino, hence there were strong propositions in the coat department. Shapes varied from ample, enveloping, and slightly oversize—cinched at the waist with leather belts for contour-enhancing purposes—to straight-cut and masculine in checkered Prince of Wales wools to highlight a sartorial appeal. Yet Scervino’s idea of tailoring doesn’t exactly belong to Savile Row orthodoxy. He lavished pantsuits (worn with matching brassieres) and double-breasted coats in dry textured wool with golden crystals.
A dash of animalier is an essential part of the seduction arsenal; Scervino provided a good option via a slim, fitted wool coat, printed convincingly with ocelot spots. It really looked like an actual fur coat and felt heavenly soft to the touch.
To be worn under the masculine coats the designer favors, slip dresses were his go-to favorite solution. They were offered in many iterations, made with macramé-encrusted black eco-leather for a tougher look, or cut lingerie-style in finely embroidered luscious white silk satin, a bit virginal and ingenue. Playing angel or devil: Scervino seems to understand that contrasts and contradictions are the salt of the earth—and of women too.