Story & Photos By Lieba Nesis |
The Marchesa show was held at the Dock at Moynihan Station at 5PM on Wednesday February 17 to much hype and excitement. The vast crowd was lined up a half hour before the show while luminaries such as Anna Wintour, Harvey Weinstein, and Coco Rocha were whisked away. Marchesa was established in 2004 by Keren Craig and Georgina Chapman, wife of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. The brand specializes in high-end womenswear and nearly every awards show contains some celebrity such as Sandra Bullock, Taylor Swift or Jennifer Lopez wearing their designs. After just having left the opulence of a Naeem Khan show my eyes had sufficient bling for the day. However, the smashingly lavish Marchesa show made Khan look understated. As the crowd took their seats, it was noteworthy that fashion heavyweights Ken Downing, Suzy Menkes and Zac Posen were there to view an evening collection.
The Marchesa Fall 2016 show was inspired by the storied paintings of John Singer Sargent and the royal gardens at Highgrove. Delicate flowers, marabou feathers, 3D hand embroidery and duck egg blues were some of the building blocks used in creating the opulent attire. The shoes, handbags and jewelry were all produced by Marchesa with styling by Tabitha Simmons and makeup by Bobbi Brown. The opening look, presented on a spotted runway, contained a mocha tulle fishtail gown with sleeves embellished in gold and bronze; the flowers were placed perfectly with just the right amount of skin showing preventing the look from appearing matronly-a technique carried out in the following three embroidered floral dresses. The black and amethyst A-line gown with floral embroidery was a showstopper; the sheerness of the skirt against the chasteness of the flowers was a perfect one-two punch screaming I am sexy and elegant, a perfect choice for Halle Berry. It is rare to see a collection, such as this, where the majority of the 32 pieces could be on the best dressed list of the Academy Awards. Just when I thought it couldn’t get better a red to black ombre ball gown with organza flowers waltzed down the runway to near gasps; the shade of red was exquisite. The black and gold cocktail dress was richly executed; my only complaint being that the model’s name was “Isis” not exactly the right effect for a romantic extravaganza. Now it was time for some rock ’n’ roll gowns with a gunmetal and black diamond jeweled necklace column gown with a fringe skirt introducing the edgy and classy portion of the evening. There was a royal blue floral dress in both cocktail and gown length-take your pick they are both stunners. There were black floral dresses above-the-knee, over-the-knee, and gown length-order all three if you have the funds. You can even obtain a gunmetal jeweled necklace with a black skirt in short or ball gown length. If delicate layers and drapings are your passion, the lilac, blue and pink tulled gowns were angelic masterpieces. Moreover, if you want something slightly nontraditional the blue ostrich feather dress with gunmetal embroidery was shown in an unpredictable three-quarter length-this was a dress for the “bold and beautiful.” The collection ended with a 3D embroidered gown coupled with a crown, and a silver jeweled cocktail dress with a Grecian drape; a spectacularly regal conclusion to an otherworldly presentation.