NEW YORK — Marchesa is a glamorous, movie-star fashion house: Its specialty is the show-stopping red carpet dresses you’re likely to see on Kate Hudson, Sienna Miller or “Annie,” known to the rest of us as Anne Hathaway.
The gowns seem a perfect complement to the label’s co-founders, Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig, two Brits-turned-New Yorkers who fit nicely into the glitzy fabric of the fashion world, clinking champagne glasses with the A-list of editors, stylists and models. Creative director Chapman is even married to film producer-mogul Harvey Weinstein.
The duo had known each other when they were students at Chelsea College of Art and Design in London and talked about having their own collection, probably loungewear.
But as Chapman earned her degree in costume design and Craig in textiles, they and their plan drifted.
However, after working as a both a model and behind-the-scenes costumer, Chapman decided she wanted to be her own boss. They rekindled their friendship and — just like that — Marchesa was born in 2004, except they had nothing really to sell and definitely no business model.
They did have an invitation to a “smart party,” though, Chapman says, and they decided to wear their own designs. Chapman wore a backless sari dress that caught the eye of the late influential fashion editor Isabella Blow, who had a reputation for finding young talent.
Blow asked if she could borrow the dress to wear to the Paris runway shows.
The buzz started when Renee Zellweger wore a red Marchesa dress to a high-wattage premiere, and it’s been one star after another, including Rihanna in a laser-cut leather number and Cameron Diaz in a micro-mini modern tuxedo style.
“Celebrities are drawn to Marchesa because the dresses are ultra-feminine and beautifully made. They truly make one feel like a modern princess,” says Cindy Weber Cleary, InStyle magazine’s fashion director.
— By Samantha Critchell | The Associated Press