Marchesa

If Fashion Week is like high school, Marchesa is the prom queen. She doesn’t even have to compete like everyone else—she just prettily reigns, laughing and waving naturally all the way down the runway in her custom Louboutins.The lucky-girl aura surrounding Marchesa is only reinforced by all the A-list celebrities who don the label on the red carpet. It helps, too, that the line was started by a pair of former models who wear their own brand almost exclusively, with Georgina Chapman, the lead designer, often photographed in glam dresses at the see-and-be-seen event du jour. “I am not opposed to wearing other designers,” Chapman told Vogue in 2008. “The problem is other people find it strange when I do.”Named for the Marchesa Luisa Casati—the Belle Epoque high priestess of fashion eccentricity, who was known for taking her pet cheetahs for walks—the line was born in Chapman’s London flat in 2004, with a handful of dresses. The actress Renée Zellweger, who handpicked a crimson and gold sari-cloth sheath for a premiere, set things in motion for Chapman and her partner, Keren Craig. Before long, they were pinning the frothy hems of many an Oscar hopeful.The combination of star power and generous backers, along with the support of the late British stylemaker Isabella Blow (who wore an early Marchesa design to the Paris shows and introduced Chapman and Craig to key industry players), fast-tracked Marchesa’s success. Right out of the gate, Neiman Marcus approached the designers about doing a lower-priced diffusion line, which would be called Notte. Over the years, the brand added a bridal collection, evening bags, and shoes.