Harvey Weinstein’s British wife, Georgina Chapman, has announced that she is leaving the movie mogul amid claims he raped three women and sexually assaulted and harassed many more.
Despite denouncing his behaviour as ‘unforgivable’, fashion insiders say the scandal may spell the end for her fashion brand Marchesa.
The British-born mother-of-two, 41, has long faced accusations that the label was only successful thanks to her husband’s connections, but now reports have emerged that he forced A-listers to wear her dresses – threatening to pull funding from their films if they refused.
An LA-based publicist told the Hollywood Reporter that Desperate Housewives star Felicity Huffman was told by Weinstein he’d pull funding from publicising her 2005 film Trasnamerica if she didn’t wear Marchesa on the red carpet.
She obliged by turning up for her high profile appearance at the Golden Globes where she was nominated for both her movie and Desperate Housewives in a flowing white Marchesa gown.
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.
Now fashion insiders are questioning whether a brand that seemingly built its success thanks to the bullying actions of a sexual predator will survive – not to mention his significant financial investment.
Sienna Miller was reportedly forced to wear Marchesa to the 2007 Golden Globes or risk upsetting Harvey Weinstein whose company had produced her film Factory Girl
Harvey Weinstein reportedly threatened to pull money from publicising Felicity Huffman’s film Transamerica unless she wore Marchesa to the Golden Globes
The future of Georgina Champan’s label Marchesa is now in doubt as the brand has become tainted by allegations its success was founded on the bullying actions of her husband Harvey Weinstein. The couple are pictured together at the Oscars in 2013
Londoner Georgina met Harvey at a party in Manhattan in 2004, following the break down of his first marriage, the same year she set up her fashion brand.
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.
Renee Zellweger gave the young brand an incredible boost in its first year when she wore a Marchesa dress to the premiere of her Weinstein-produced Bridget Jones film in 2004
Weinstein, pictured with his wife, admitted helping his wife’s label take off by ensuring Renee Zellwegger’s championing of the brand on the red carpet
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 the allegations against Weinstein 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.
Sandra Bullock in a gold Marchesa dress for her high profile appearance at the Oscars in 2010, when she won Best Actress for The Blind Side (left). Jennifer Lopez at the Oscars Vanity Fair Party, wearing Marchesa, in 2007 (right)
Nicole Kidman wears a Marchesa dress at the 69th annual Directors Guild of America Awards
‘The decision was reached that unless Georgina cuts ties from her husband or donates proceeds to a women’s organization, no one is allowed to pull any Marchesa dresses for clients,’ the source said.
Another unnamed New York fashion publicist told The Hollywood Reporter: ‘No star is ever going to want to wear the brand again.’
Other reports suggest that the brand will struggle without Weinstein’s investment.
‘The problem is that he has too much money in it. It’s all his money in the brand,’ a source told Us Weekly.
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.