Marchesa is an American brand specializing in women's wear based in New York City. It was established in 2004 by

Georgina Chapman Georgina Rose Chapman (born 14 April 1976) is an English fashion designer and actress. She was a regular cast member on ''Project Runway All Stars'' and, together with Keren Craig, is a co-founder of the fashion label Marchesa. Chapman was marri ...

and

Keren Craig Keren Craig (born 27 February 1976 in Lucerne, Switzerland) is a Swiss-born British fashion designer. Together with Georgina Chapman, she founded the high-end fashion label Marchesa in 2004. Life and career As teenagers, Craig met future part ...

. Marchesa is known for designing dresses for several celebrities, including

Scarlett Johansson Scarlett Ingrid Johansson (; born November 22, 1984) is an American actress. The world's highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019, she has featured multiple times on the ''Forbes'' Celebrity 100 list. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 100 ...

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...

Cate Blanchett Catherine Elise Blanchett (; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor. Regarded as one of the finest performers of her generation, she is known for her versatile work across independent films, blockbusters, and the stage. She has received nu ...

Anne Hathaway Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Anne Hathaway, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Awar ...

, and

Penélope Cruz Penélope Cruz Sánchez (; ; born 28 April 1974) is a Spanish actress. Known for her roles in films of several genres, particularly those in the Spanish language, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British A ...

Products

Vera Farmiga @ 2010 Academy Awards (cropped)

Marchesa launched a handbag line, wedding dress line, Marchesa Bridal Couture, and collaborated with Lenox on dinnerware designs. In 2010, Marchesa collaborated with Le Métier de Beauty on a cosmetics line featuring the palettes of designers Chapman and Craig.

History

Marchesa is named after socialite

Marchesa A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman w ...

Luisa Casati Luisa, Marchesa Casati Stampa di Soncino (born Luisa Adele Rosa Maria Amman; 23 January 1881 – 1 June 1957), was an Italian heiress, muse, and patroness of the arts in early 20th-century Europe. Early life Luisa Adele Rosa Maria Amman was born ...

. Founders

and

met at

Chelsea College of Art and Design Chelsea College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London based in London, United Kingdom, and is a leading British art and design institution with an international reputation. It offers further and higher educat ...

in London. Chapman, a graduate of the

Wimbledon School of Art Wimbledon College of Arts, formerly Wimbledon School of Art, is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London specialising in theatre, screen and performance art. It is located in Wimbledon and Merton Park, South West London. ...

, began her career as a costume designer. Craig graduated from Brighton Art College focused on print and embroidery design. Chapman's draping and design paired with Craig's textile creations resulted in the establishment of Marchesa in 2004.

Sienna Miller Sienna Rosie Diana Miller (born December 28, 1981) is an American-British actress. Born in New York City and raised in London, she began her career as a photography model, appearing in the pages of Italian ''Vogue'' and for the 2003 Pirelli cal ...

wore Marchesa on the cover of ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'' magazine's September 2007 issue (photographed by

Mario Testino Mario Eduardo Testino Silva OBE HonFRPS (born 30 October 1954) is a Peruvian fashion and portrait photographer. His work has featured internationally in magazines such as ''Vogue, V Magazine,'' '' Vanity Fair'' and '' GQ.'' He has also cre ...

), which was the subject of the 2009 documentary, ''

The September Issue ''The September Issue'' is a 2009 American documentary film directed by R.J. Cutler about the behind-the-scenes drama that follows editor-in-head Anna Wintour and her staff during the production of the September 2007 issue of American ''Vogue'' ma ...

''.

Celebrities

The brand has been worn by many Hollywood actresses on the red carpet.

Sandra Bullock Sandra Annette Bullock (; born July 26, 1964) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Sandra Bullock, various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award, Bullock was ...

wore Marchesa at the 2010 Academy Awards, where she won

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress aw ...

and was also named among the best dressed by readers of the Huffington Post.

Sarah Hyland Sarah Jane Hyland (born November 24, 1990) is an American actress and singer. Born in Manhattan, she attended the Professional Performing Arts School before having small roles in the films '' Private Parts'' (1997), '' Annie'' (1999) and ''Blin ...

wore Marchesa at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards. Several celebrities wore Marchesa to the 2016

Met Gala The Met Gala, or Met Ball, formally called the Costume Institute Gala or the Costume Institute Benefit, is an annual fundraising gala held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in New York City. It is popularly ...

, including

Poppy Delevingne Poppy Angela Delevingne (born 3 May 1986)Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 2, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, p. 3028 is an English model, socialite and blogger. Family and personal life Delevingne wa ...

Karolína Kurková Karolína Kurková (; born 28 February 1984) is a Czech model and actress, known for her work as a former Victoria's Secret Angel and ''Vogue'' cover star. Mario Testino praised the "proportions of her body and her face, as well as her energy le ...

, and

Nina Dobrev Nikolina Kamenova Dobreva ( bg, Николина Каменова Добрева, ; born January 9, 1989), credited professionally as Nina Dobrev ( ), is a Canadian actress. She is best known for portraying Elena Gilbert and Katherine Pierce o ...

Weinstein controversy

The success of the brand among celebrities was in part attributed to the influence of

Miramax Miramax, LLC, also known as Miramax Films, is an American film and television production and distribution company founded on December 19, 1979, by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein, and based in Los Angeles, California. It was initially a leadi ...

producer

Harvey Weinstein Harvey Weinstein (; born March 19, 1952) is an American former film producer and convicted sex offender. He and his brother, Bob Weinstein, co-founded the entertainment company Miramax, which produced several successful independent films inclu ...

, Chapman's then-husband. Weinstein reportedly pressured actresses who appeared in his films to wear the brand. After sexual abuse accusations against Weinstein emerged with allegations made by multiple actresses, Marchesa, once a mainstay of the red carpet, had been shunned by all the celebrities attending various awards ceremonies, in favor of other brands. In May 2018,

broke this months-long trend of red-carpet Marchesa avoidance by wearing a custom-made gown from the brand to the

. After the Weinstein scandal broke, the Fall 2019 collection was presented by couture design director Anna Holvik and Notte design director Ceazar Cabreros instead of Chapman and Craig. On June 25, 2019, Craig announced her intention to leave Marchesa and was later replaced by Artur Sjakowska.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marchesa 2004 establishments in New York City Clothing brands of the United States Clothing companies based in New York City Clothing companies established in 2004 Fashion accessory brands High fashion brands Privately held companies based in New York (state)