Marchesa - what do you think?

[LibertyRose]

Renee Zellweger opted to wear Marchesa instead of Carolina Herrera for the premiere of Bridget Jones 2. Diane Kruger gave the label its Hollywood debut at the Golden Globes. During Cate Blanchett's frenzied promotional tour for The Aviator, Marchesa was seen on her alongside A-list designers such as McQueen, Lanvin, Gaultier, Lacrioux, Valentino, YSL, and Yohji Yamamoto. Claudia Schiffer fell for it too. At Cannes, Penelope Cruz auctioned off her Marchesa dress for $100,000.

Quite a high profile, but is Marchesa here to stay or just a flash in the pan? The label was set up in 2004 by two female designers who have a penchant for exotic patterns and Indian embroderies. Every dress is hand-made and special-ordered. Their first runway presentation is scheduled to be in 2006 but, thanks to one of the designer's relationship with uber-producer Harvey Weinstein, the label already has a Hollywood following. That means Weinstein favorites, Proof's Gwyneth Paltrow and Derailed's Jennifer Aniston, may wear them at premieres soon.

Because Marchesa does not have a show yet, it is hard to tell the coherence of their designs. But below is a sampling of what they have done. I love the gown on Claudia Schiffer, but not the half-dress on Diane Kruger. What do you think?

 

[.francesca]

i love renee's and cate's dresses. i agree about the half-dress, and i'm on the fence about claudia's..i'm leaning towards no..i think i don't like the color on her, nor do i like her very much, but that's beside the point.

it's really hard to say about a designer when they have a really strong following right away..a definite case of knowing the right person, if h. weinstein is on their side. i can see it being huge, but i can also see it not becoming anything at all..as flippant as things like hollywood tend to often be.

 

[LibertyRose]

The construction of Claudia's dress is beautiful, but the coloring didn't suit her complexion. I am sure a different wearer would be able to pull off this beautiful gown. It's a beautiful dress, just not on Claudia.

Marchesa could be an example of how knowing the right person could get you started in this industry (hello Zac Posen!). But then again, I am not ready to call them talent-free yet. Their first show would be tell-tale, I guess. I wonder if they can do anything other than red carpet stuff.

 

[OlgaKorbut]

Penelope Cruz also wore Marchesa to the premiere of "Sahara".

 

[Diorling]

Meh, they dont look like anything special to me. Very Zac Posen (who is so overrated) nothing seems new, nothing is fresh, I hate that, anyone with a People Best Dressed of 2004 magazine could do this.

I dont like Claudia's dress at all, I hate velvet and even more on a dress, and it's the color of Pepto Bismol.

 

[Plato's_Cave]

The designers themselves (Keren Craig & Georgina Chapman) in Marchesa

 

[Plato's_Cave]

Scarlett Johansson in Marchesa at the UK Premiere of "The Island"

 

[adorefaith]

i adore cate's look....
but i'm not sure if thats the design, or cate herself...

some of these seem lovely....

 

[Amelia]

I think I like this brand but I just can't stand this dress at Diane Kruger. The others are great (I'm not sure about Scarlett's dress...). I love this one on Claudia Schiffer

 

[Plato's_Cave]

I like a few of the dresses, but I'd like to see more of it to form a real opinion. But it'll be interesting to see how they manage to follow up this early success. Apparently, they'll also have a RTW collection out by early 2006.

 

[droogist]

One big nay, imo - ill-fitting and uninspired. I don't think these gowns flatter any of these women, and if they can't wear them, who can?

 

[Meg]

the one on georgina chapman is gorgeous. scarlett's dress is also lovely, just a bit awkward in the chest. there are some hits and misses.....don't really think they are a zac posen though....we shall see i suppose!

 

[j´adore dior]

maybe i´m wrong , but on style.com they posted penelope´s dress as by john galliano:

 

[LibertyRose]

Scarlett Johansson's dress is incredible in profile! Even though it doesn't exactly look nice from the front... It made her look really round, imo.

 

[Plato's_Cave]

maybe i´m wrong , but on style.com they posted penelope´s dress as by john galliano.

I'm positive it's a Marchesa.

And here it is:
http://www.amfar.org/cgi-bin/iowa/events/scrap/photo.html?record=115&p=707

 

[j´adore dior]

I'm positive it's a Marchesa.

And here it is:
http://www.amfar.org/cgi-bin/iowa/events/scrap/photo.html?record=115&p=707

style!, how embarrassing

 

[Spike413]

The only thing that really stands out to me is the dress on Diane Kruger, and I'm not so sute I like it, it's just the only one that I find interesting.

 

[Spacemiu]

I think half of it is intretsing, the other half is not really.

 

[ultramarine]

I dont like it much ... and Frau Kruger's dress looks right outta soem infamous scene from "Gone with the wind"

 

[|PerfectTonight|]

Very American I don't like it (no offense to anyone)! Reminds me of Dolly P.