FOR the first time, the designers behind the grandiose label Marchesa - the doll-like Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig - abandoned showing their collection in a static, museum-like presentation. At the Plaza Hotel, which along with the New York Public Library is giving Lincoln Center a run for its money, the ladies displayed their optically verbose wares for spring, though these designs don't really fit neatly into a seasonal category.
The salon showing, which welcomed celebrities and models alike, plus a well-behaved Courtney Love, as an audience members, employed the use of superstars Karen Elson and Karlie Kloss - barefaced and hair in a relaxed ponytail like the rest of the models - and more clearly displayed the technically virtuosity of these fantastical confections. The show notes denoted an aquatic theme, but the offerings belied that, mostly. Subtlety has never been a strong point of Marchesa, which seemingly focuses solely on placing these rare jewels on the backs of red carpet-bound starlets, and this season did not deviate from that intention.
Elson opened the show in a glittering, fringed dress that was overflowing with motion as she moved down the runway. Another dress seemed like miles of white trimming rigorously swathed around a model's body and frozen there, as if by magic or pure willpower. Some shapes were especially fascinating, creating profiles that were otherworldly and felt like they should appear unnatural, but were extraordinary in their ingenuity. For example, Karolina Kurkova wore a column dress that was overlaid with copious amounts of tulle at the bust, in a V at the hips and sprouting generously like a fishtail at the floor. If it sounds odd, it's because it was, but it was also enchanting in its uniqueness. The new format allowed the designers to display two things they haven't in the past: the three-dimensionality of the dresses, for they are just as awe-inspiring from every angle, and their fluidity, as in the past they seemed too statuesque to ever be animated. By allowing the viewers access to these new facets, they grounded their transcendental work, making them more mortal and tangible than ever before.
SEE THE MARCHESA SHOW ARCHIVE