Georgina Chapman is moving on her with her Marchesa label in the wake of the sexual assault allegations against her soon-to-be ex-husband Harvey Weinstein, but its unclear if the brand will be able to survive the scandal.
The 41-year-old designer and her partner Keren Craig quietly released 38 lookbook photos of their Marchesa and Marchesa Notte pre-fall 2018 collections this week amid reports that Chapman and Weinstein have reached a multi-million dollar divorce settlement.
Although Chapman appears to be back to business, Women’s Wear Daily reports the brand didn’t hold press appointments for the Marchesa and Marchesa Notte collections like fashion labels traditionally do.
Moving on: Georgina Chapman (right) and her partner Keren Craig (left), quietly released photos of their Marchesa and Marchesa Notte pre-fall 2018 collections this week
Can it survive? Chapman, 41, is moving ahead with the label in the wake of the sexual assault allegations against her soon-to-be ex-husband Harvey Weinstein
Late night: Marchesa describes its latest collection as a visit to a ‘nocturnal garden party, boasting dramatic silhouettes and colors’
Marchesa describes its latest collection as a visit to a ‘nocturnal garden party, boasting dramatic silhouettes and colors,’ while Notte was inspired by the ‘vibrant, tropical fantasy that was the kingdom of Hawaii and their last crown princess, Ka’iulani.’
The label released photos of the collection on Instagram this week, and the whimsical designs attracted positive comments from fans. Although some have argued that Chapman is complicit in her estranged husband’s actions, the posts appear to be suspiciously free negative commentary.
Shorty after the first allegations against Weinstein emerged in October, Chapman announced that she had left the disgraced movie mogul who funded her company and reportedly bullied A-list actresses into wearing her designs on the red carpet.
It’s unclear how much money Chapman will get in the divorce, but reports suggest they have reached a settlement and she will get custody of their two children.
The prenuptial agreement she signed would reportedly pay her out between $15 and $20 million after 10 years of marriage, in addition to the child support she stands to receive for their seven-year-old daughter India and four-year-old son Dashiell.
Paradise: Their latest Marchesa Notte collection was inspired by the ‘vibrant, tropical fantasy that was the kingdom of Hawaii and their last crown princess, Ka’iulani’
Holding back: Although Chapman appears to be back to work, the brand didn’t hold press appointments for Marchesa and Marchesa Notte like fashion labels traditionally do
Outrage: It has been alleged that Weinstein, pictured with Chapman in 2017, forced the stars of his movies to wear his wife’s designs by threatening their careers
Although Chapman and Craig are continuing with the label, it is difficult to predict how much support Marchesa will receive in the upcoming months.
After the scandal broke three months ago, WWD asked retailers whether they would continue to support Marchesa. While several bridal stores and major retailers said they would, only Linda Fargo from Bergdorf Goodman was willing to go on record to say that she hopes to continue support for the label in the future.
If the red carpet at this year’s Golden Globes is any indication, the sexual harassment and assault allegations against Weinstein may have ruined Chapman’s fashion label for good.
For the first time in years, Chapman’s high-end brand is thought to have failed to make an appearance at the star-studded event, with not one single A-list star on the red carpet choosing to wear one of her designs – a telling sign of what may be to come for her and her business.
It no doubt came as a bitter – but likely unsurprising – blow for the entrepreneur, who has enjoyed over a decade as one of award season’s most coveted designers, with dozens of stars happily modeling her intricate dresses on the red carpets of events likes the Golden Globes, the SAG Awards, and the Oscars.
The end of an era: Not a single A-lister at this year’s Golden Globes wore Marchesa. Chapman is pictured at last year’s ceremony
A former favorite: Chapman’s designs have previously been one of award season’s most sought-after, with the likes of Chrissy Teigen happily wearing one of her gowns last year
A change: Heidi Klum also wore a Marchesa design in 2017 (left) – but this year she joined the Time’s Up movement in an all-black dress by Ashi Studio (right)
At last year’s Globes alone, Marchesa dressed the likes of Chrissy Teigen and Heidi Klum – while Georgina also walked the red carpet in one of her own designs.
The year before, Zendaya, Viola Davis and Lily James all wore her dresses.
However, with this year’s Golden Globes focusing heavily on the newly-launched initiative Time’s Up, a movement supported by 300 women in entertainment that hopes to eradicate harassment, abuse, and gender inequality in the workplace, it seems that Marchesa no longer has a place in the spotlight.
The 75th annual award ceremony saw almost every single female attendee wearing an all-black look as a show of solidarity for the Time’s Up movement – and the hundreds of thousands of women around the world who have been abused, harassed, or faced gender discrimination at some point in their lives.
And while the sartorial statement drew both support and criticism from around the globe, it seems everyone was united in the decision to avoid Marchesa – which was actually funded by Weinstein. He is said to have contributed to its success by allegedly bullying the stars of his movies into wearing his wife’s designs.
Heidi, Viola, and Lily all took part in the sartorial protest, with all three women wearing black dresses on the carpet – none of which were Marchesa.
Now that the allegations against Weinstein – and the alleged role he played in Marchesa’s success – have been made so public, it appears nobody in Hollywood is willing to go near the label.
As the allegations against Weinstein have mounted, people have taken to social media to call for a boycott of Marcehsa, and fashion insiders say that nobody will want to wear the brand again as it’s been tainted by the scandal.
An unnamed stylist told Us Weekly that their company has forbidden employees from dressing their clients in Marchesa for the time being.
Moving on: Viola Davis chose a Marchesa design for her Golden Globes carpet look in 2016 (left), but this year made a statement in an all-black Brandon Maxwell number (right)
No more: Lily James also donned Marchesa at the 2016 ceremony (left), but she too chose a different label for the Time’s Up-focused carpet, wearing Valentino Haute Couture instead (right)
That was then: Singer and actress Zendaya, who did not attend this year’s ceremony, wore Marchesa at the Golden Globes in 2016
Victimized? Nicole Kidman is one of many stars of Weinstein films who’ve worn Marchesa on the red carpet, including at the Directors Guild of America Awards last year (left). She wore a black Givenchy design at this year’s Golden Globes (right)
Such is the stigma attached to it that outspoken activist and Weinstein accuser Rose McGowan used the threat of wearing the label’s dresses as a slur against actresses who spoke out about their plans to wear all black to this year’s awards shows as part of a silent protest.
‘Actresses, like Meryl Streep, who happily worked for The Pig Monster, are wearing black @GoldenGlobes in a silent protest,’ she wrote in a tweet that was posted and then deleted back in December.
‘YOUR SILENCE is THE problem. You’ll accept a fake award breathlessly & affect no real change. I despise your hypocrisy. Maybe you should all wear Marchesa.’
Marchesa was founded in 2004, the same year Chapman and Weinstein met. The label was funded by the multi-millionaire movie mogul and enjoyed instant success, thanks to a handful of actresses who boosted its profile by wearing some of its earliest gowns to premieres and events.
In October, Felicity Huffman confirmed that Weinstein threatened to pull publicity funding for her 2005 film Transamerica if she didn’t wear his wife’s gowns on the red carpet.
Amid mounting allegations of Weinstein’s sexual harassment and sexual assault, The Hollywood Reporter wrote that he threatened to sabotage the careers of A-list stars, including Huffman’s, if they didn’t wear Marchesa.
‘Yeah, it’s true,’ Huffman, who has been married to fellow actor William H. Macy for 20 years, told TooFab at the Eva Longoria Foundation Gala in Los Angeles.
The actress obliged Weinstein’s demands by wearing a flowing white Marchesa gown for her high-profile appearance at the Golden Globes where she was nominated for both her film and her role on Desperate Housewives.
Out with it: Felicity Huffman confirmed reports that Weinstein threatened to stop financial support of her 2005 film Transamerica if she didn’t wear Marchesa were ‘true’
Keeping in line: The now-54-year-old obliged his demands by wearing Marchesa to numerous events, including her film’s 2005 screening (left) and the 2006 Golden Globes (right)
Famous faces; Sandra Bullock wore a gold Marchesa dress for the Oscars in 2010 (left). Jennifer Lopez wore the brand to the Oscars Vanity Fair Party in 2007 (right)
Huffman, who took home a Golden Globe for Transamerica, also wore a black, strapless Marchesa gown to the New York screening of the film that year.
Even before the scandal over rape and sexual harassment allegations broke, Chapman faced the accusations that the label was only successful thanks to her husband’s Hollywood connections.
‘He was the mastermind behind Marchesa — orchestrating deals and using his influence in terms of the celebrity connections for her on behalf of the brand,’ one Los Angeles publicist told The Hollywood Reporter.
The publicist noted that Weinstein and Chapman had an understanding that ‘they both benefited from the relationship,’ adding that ‘she certainly knew about his bad behavior.’
Another publicist recalled that Sienna Miller was told Harvey ‘would be very upset if she didn’t wear Marchesa’ when invited to sit at Harvey’s table at the Golden Globes in 2007 after starring in the Weinstein-produced Factory Girl.
London-born Chapman met her husband at a party in Manhattan in 2004, following the break down of his first marriage.
The label was just in its infancy when it got the most incredible big break courtesy of Renee Zellweger wearing a Marchesa dress to the London premiere of Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason.
At the time, having won an Oscar for Cold Mountain, she was perhaps the biggest film star in the world and could have had her pick of any designer dress.
But it’s no surprise that Weinstein’s influence was at play, given that Bridget Jones was produced by his company Miramax, and he received a thank you in her Oscar acceptance speech earlier that year.
The movie mogul himself admitted to pushing his wife’s burgeoning label in an interview with Vogue in 2013, saying: ‘Maybe I helped, but just very, very little, with Renée Zellweger.’
Over the past 13 years, stars who have appeared in Weinstein-produced films and worn Marchesa on the red carpet include Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry and Cate Blanchett.
As well as putting his own money into Marchesa, Weinstein persuaded friends such as Giuseppe Cipriani to invest in the company, meaning the brand may suffer if he wants to cut off associations with the shamed mogul.
The day after it was reported that Weinstein bullied actresses into wearing her designs, Chapman broke her six-day silence when she announced she was leaving the film mogul, whom she married in 2007.
‘My heart breaks for all the women who have suffered tremendous pain because of these unforgivable actions. I have chosen to leave my husband,’ Chapman said in her statement to People.
‘Caring for my young children is my first priority and I ask the media for privacy at this time.’
Although Chapman has kept an incredibly low profile since the scandal first broke, it was reported in December that Marchesa will return to New York Fashion Week in February to present its fall collection.