For Spring 2008, Marchesa’s design duo of Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig continued to build on the glamorously chic and feminine designs they’ve quickly become recognized and celebrated for on the red carpet since launching their line only three short years ago. For this season; however, their focus seemed to expand beyond award shows and premieres with a bevy of beautiful cocktail frocks and one very noticeable jacket and trouser paring. The Chelsea Art Museum installation of eleven vignettes showcased 22 inspired looks in an appropriately dramatic palette of black, white, antique silver and gold, with a daring and romantic saturation of color in saffron, lemongrass, and cerise!

By now you must know that the line is a favorite amongst starlets, models, and emerging fashionistas, alike, but do you know the back story behind the label? According to the company website, British born Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig met at Chelsea College of Art and Design in London. Ms. Chapman, a 2001 graduate of the Wimbledon School of Art, began her career as a costume designer. Ms. Craig graduated from Brighton Art College in 2000 and subsequently focused on print and embroidery design. Ms. Chapman’s draping and design expertise paired with Ms. Craig’s textile creations resulted in a business partnership and the establishment of Marchesa in 2004. Elegant eveningwear, inspired by vintage and Asian influences, defines the Marchesa Collection. The beautifully crafted designs fuse high fashion with an eclectic aesthetic.

Marchesa’s Spring 2008 Collection examined the British Raj and the resulting fusion of two opposing cultures. The themes of Victorian romance merged with Indian tradition and sensuality. Ethereal fabrics of silk organza, silk tulle, and silk chiffon were paired with lace, mirrored kutch-work and detailed hand-embroidery. Once again, the signature design details these ladies are known for were exquisitely exemplified with gilded appliqués, corsetry, drapery, bustle-backs, embroidered shoulders and bodices, and tiered ribbons, ruffles, and lace!

My favorite looks included a black lace bateau neck dress with plunge-black; the silver silk-chiffon draped gown with hand-embroidered bodice detail; an embroidered nude jacket paired with a nude silk-chiffon draped skirt; the black strapless silk-tulle gown with gold appliqué; a saffron silk-chiffon long dress with gold hand-embroidered detail; the cerise cap-sleeve dress with embroidered mirror detail; and a cerise ombré silk organza tiered gown with embroidered black tulle corset.

“I want to be a living work of art,” once said the company’s namesake and muse, Marchesa Luisa Casati, the noted eccentric European style icon. For the first three decades of the twentieth century, the fabled Marchesa Luisa Casati (1881-1957) triumphed as the brightest star in European society. According to her official biography, Infinite Variety: The Life and Legend of the Marchesa Casati (http://www.marchesacasati.com/), she had herself painted by Giovanni Boldini, Augustus John, Kees Van Dongen, Romaine Brooks, and Ignacio Zuloaga; sketched by Drian, Alberto Martini, and Alastair; sculpted by Giacomo Balla, Catherine Barjansky, and Jacob Epstein; and photographed by Man Ray, Cecil Beaton, and Baron Adolph de Meyer. All the while, Marchesa Luisa Casati journeyed wherever her fancy took her—Venice, Rome, Paris, and Capri— collecting palaces and a menagerie of exotic animals and spending fortunes on lavish masquerades. It’s no wonder she caused such a press sensation during a 1920’s sojourn to the United States that featured stays in New York City and Hollywood—the latter including reported visits with silent screen actor John Barrymore and newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst.

Based in London and New York, the Marchesa collection is presently available in Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman in the United States, Selfridges in London, and specialty boutiques such as Holt Renfrew in Canada, Elegance 2000 in Russia, Vakko in Turkey, Joyce Boutique in Hong Kong, and Villa Moda in both Kuwait and Bahrain. The grand dame continues to influence and inspire this pair of young designers, who are channeling Marchesa Luisa Casati’s quest for immortality with their stunning creations (which have become sartorial works of art in their own right). Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig have quickly built an international brand with an impressive following for a new generation of fashion elite to covet!

For more information, please visit http://www.marchesa.com/