There was a sensual, cocooning touch to Ermanno Scervino’s collection, which spliced Ava Gardner’s full-on ’50s femininity with the fine tailoring and luscious fabrics for which the brand is known.
Scervino said his aim was to put a modern spin on those corseted looks and bullet bras that gave Gardner, and so many other Hollywood pinup types, their distinctive hourglass figures. That was no easy task at a time when some younger women are casting off their bras altogether, embracing body positivity and shopping the closets of their brothers or male friends.
Scervino was up for the challenge, taking those curvy mannequin shapes and recasting them for 2023.
A strapless minidress with a built-in corset took on a new personality after Scervino added a floor-length, black opaque skirt or swapped the sexy satin for lipstick red double-faced wool.
He also used the corset as inspiration, adding a row of little vertical tucks, resembling ribs, to the waist of a long blue-gray coat, or wasp waists to glen plaid check or plain wool jackets. Other tailored jackets came drizzled with sequins or layered over crystal-studded bra tops.
Of course, there were plenty of lace, tulle and satin pinup silhouettes, and one sleeveless sheath, awash in sparkles, echoed Marilyn Monroe’s “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” dress. But there were even more demure styles, such as oversize satin shirts, some with bows at the neck, which Scervino paired with tall leather boots or sequined trousers.
Outerwear was beautiful, as always, with standouts including a cream cashmere robe with shearling-lined lapels; a red shearling cape jacket, and shaggy coats and oversize sweaters — big as bear hugs — tossed over long dresses covered in sequins or ruffles.
Scervino loves dressing women and it’s clear he cares as much about his own aesthetic as he does about theirs. The bullet bra may look like an ancient artifact to some, but slipped under a cozy wool minidress, or a sturdy tailored jacket, it takes on a whole new meaning.
