Intimo più mare n° 213 - Settembre 2018

ENGLISH TRANSLATION
fully selected suppliers, hand-picked with great care over the
years.
As time went on the company’s work became more and more
technical in nature and so in 2010 Federica Colombo, with the
help of her sister, Giorgia, decided to take full advantage of her
extensive experience in the field of craft-based quality fabrics
and her love of details, specializing in the comple art of differentiated
cups.
FASHION DESIGNER (on page102)
ERMANNO SCERVINO
EXPERIMENTATION AND BEAUTY
His couture-à-porter has revolutionized the Italian fashion
world. The designer tells us how his creative philosophy manifests
itself in the underwear and beachwear sectors
An Italian approach to fashion that’s still pure and pristine, an
unflagging knowledge of and responsiveness to feminine tastes
and an undying love for sartorial perfection, a passion which must
always strike a balance between creative experimentation and
artisanal know-how: these are the cardinal principles that have
always guided Ermanno Scervino ever since the beginning of
his career, inspired by the great icons of Italian cinema, by the
beauty he discovered in his architectural studies, by his travels
and the opportunity to create clothing according to the tenets of
his own aesthetic philosophy. An enormous role has also been
played by his special relationship, a sort of teamship, with the
city of Florence, where he moved from Milan as a young boy,
quickly coming to consider it his true home for both personal
and professional reasons. His fashion house which was officially
founded in 2000 together with Toni Scervino, the company’s
present CEO, has come to be a symbol, epitomizing that
authentic, accessible luxury, composed of craft-based values
and techniques applied to state-of-the-art materials, a vision
of luxury that strikes a deep chord with millions of women
around the world.
How does the distinctive craft-based approach to creativity
that characterizes your collections manifest itself in the
under- and beachwear collections?
In a completely natural way, of course. My design concept is very
precise and, above all, unitary: so the various different collections
simply represent more specific manifestations of this overarching
idea of mine. To my way of thinking craftsmanship and know-how
are absolutely fundamental. Creativity must be backed by skilled
hands that know how to perform the required tasks, hands that
know how to combine fine fabrics by deftly wielding needle and
thread. Only by mastering these fundamental prerequisites can
one hope to put together a credible collection. This approach
is as crucial and valid for the women’s collections I present on
the Milan catwalks as for the lingerie and beachwear. Indeed,
there are constant examples of cross-pollination. The slip, for
example, which is usually categorized as a component of intimate
apparel, when transformed to be vaunted as outerwear, serves
as a key item in my fashion collection. Made from luxurious
materials and boasting innovative styling, it reveals itself to be
ideal as a sophisticated, sensual evening gown. When, on the
other hand, it comes to beachwear, a recent anecdote comes
to mind: last summer the top model, Alessandra Ambrosio,
was wearing one of my swimsuits embellished with insets of
macramé lace, representing the “beachwear” version of several
dresses I had already presented on the catwalks. The success of
this “couture” swimsuit worn by such a gorgeous woman was
absolutely extraordinary.
What innovations, in terms of design, can still be introduced
into these two sectors?
Potentially the number is infinite, especially if one considers
that in today’s world creativity has to be updated at least every
six months in order to stay current. My greatest wish is to be
able to anticipate women’s desires, offering them captivating
clothing a moment before they are even aware of wanting it. For
this to be possible I feel that, in addition to color and form, the
materials and workmanship play an absolutely critical role. So
I also use atelier work methods when it comes to lingerie and
beachwear and I like to see the materials I am most attached
to show up again in the swimwear, by way of highlighting a
degree of aesthetic continuity within the seasonal collection.
The constant quest for technological innovation, on the other
hand, has stimulated me to create a capsule collection imbued
with a Brazilian inspiration, featuring swimsuits in high-tech
materials intended to offer thebest possible protection from
harmful solar radiation.
Just what are contemporary women looking for when
shopping for an item of underwear? How important is lingerie
really in the wardrobe of a modern woman?
I feel that it is crucially important. Lingerie completed a look and
nowadays it is increasingly visible, openly vaunted, in a sort of
ongoing dialogue with a woman’s choice in outerwear. In addition
to being attractive, obviously, it must also be comfortable.
This is why my collection includes garments made from a
lightweight but strong microfiber which has been combined
with sophisticated tulle. We have created a play of layered effects
that showcases the beauty and sensuality of any woman in a
chaste, refined manner, never descending into vulgarity. In my
humble opinion, this beguiling game of peek-a-boo and all the
subtly veiled transparency constitute the maximum sartorial
expression of femininity.
What do you think of the way the new athleisure concept has
influenced the underwear and beachwear sector?
I find it extremely interesting and this is why I decided to devote
an entire line to it within the context of my Brazil capsule
collection. I very much enjoy setting up a dialogue between
different textures and materials distinguished by an athletic
nature and sartorial and craft-based techniques. The result, as
I see it, is an extremely luxurious product that is, at the same
time, also highly modern. Besides, these days contemporary
women are fairly complicated, multifaceted creatures, exhibiting
different sides: romantic, sensual and sporty etc. So it is
incumbent on the brands to offer a section that is as complete
and varied as possible in order to satisfy the requirements of
all its customers.