After Sandra Bullock took home an Oscar in that glittering gold gown, eveningwear label Marchesa has been an awards season stalwart – co-founder Georgina Chapman tells us what it’s like to dress Hollywood.
Looking back at the A-list celebrities you have dressed, what are your highlights?
I think our first highlight was Renée Zellweger. When we dressed her for Bridget Jones, that was our first big red carpet moment. Then we had Sandra Bullock winning the Oscar in 2010 wearing one of our gowns – that was an incredible moment. That’s probably a stand out because she won but we’ve been so fortunate with all the women we dress; from Jennifer Lopez to Blake Lively, there are so many and I’m so grateful.
Do you feel pressure dressing stars for such big occasions?
I get really nervous, of course I do! It’s such an important occasion, you want to get it right because this woman’s entrusted you to make that moment special for them. I can’t even imagine how it must be to be picked apart by a bank of photographers. Ultimately when a woman’s on the red carpet, she’s there as an actress not as a model, and you don’t want them to feel uncomfortable in what they’re wearing.
What has been the biggest event of 2011 for Marchesa?
This year we did a salon style catwalk show for our Spring/Summer collection at the Plaza [hotel]. I tried to keep it as intimate as possible, so the catwalk itself wound around the audience. For me, that was a big moment, deciding to move on from the static presentation format into seeing the dresses move.
What was the inspiration behind that collection?
It was based on a painting by Ilya Repin about an underwater kingdom. I was researching Russian artists on the internet and I came across that artist and this painting [entitled Sadko] and as soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted to do a collection on it. It depicts an underwater world, so all the references are from that. There’s a very watery colour palette, from sandy colours to deep, deep hues. The collection has a sort of liquid feel to it, with a lot of sparkling beading, a lot of blues, a lot of floating tulles.
Who is the Marchesa woman?
I think the Marchesa woman really can be any woman. My main aim is to make women feel beautiful and I don’t think that starts or stops at any age – I think you always want to look your best.
I’ve done trunk shows where I’ve had eight year olds come – these kids are savvy and just want to see what we’re doing. We also had a woman who had just turned 90 and she had bought the same dress Halle Berry wore to the Oscars. To me that really shows that age boundaries have come down in the last few decades, and that women are not afraid to dress how they want, regardless of age. They just want to feel beautiful.
Do you have any top tips for creating an eveningwear look?
You’ve got to feel good in what you’re wearing. If you’re uncomfortable, it will show – I don’t think it matters what you wear as long as you’re owning it. It doesn’t need to be related to trends, you need to feel beautiful. Who cares what anybody else thinks?
If you could dress one woman, alive or dead, who would it be?
Marchesa Casati [the Italian heiress and early 20th century socialite from whom the brand takes its name].
What is on the horizon for Marchesa?
Right now it’s all about the Oscars and the runway show and our bridal collection as well. We’ve also got our handbags – we’ve recently won an award for them and we are always thinking of new areas to go into.
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