M

archesa 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.
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.
“Once we started, we had so
much fun,” says Chapman.
And, with Marchesa Luisa
Casati, the eccentric European style
chameleon, as their muse, a vision
of a unique brand was emerging. It
was good, if coincidental, timing
that their gowns, all one-of-a-kind,
started making the rounds to
Hollywood stylists just as the
weekly celebrity magazines
exploded into a huge force in
fashion. “We saw the red carpets
and saw them as an amazing
marketing tool,” Chapman says,
and they’d carry big suitcases back
and forth to Los Angeles.
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.

A Distinctive style mAgAzine 19