In the Marchesa studio in Chelsea, cofounders Georgina Chapman and **Keren Craig’**s dresses take action. No bridal sample Chapman brings out is described as just “white” or “pretty”; in the designer s words, they are falling, blooming, and growing. And they look like it. Gold-dipped feather trim waves as Chapman walks by (“Every day is a feather day!” she says), and bunches of tulle would explode off the dress form if it weren’t for well-placed pins. The showroom is like an enchanted forest, with lace ivy and sequined blooms everywhere you look.
Chapman’s office is less lush and more practical, however; her desk is a hand-me-down from her husband, Harvey Weinstein, and the only “natural” ambience comes from the spectacular sunlight that filters through the wall-length window. Among giant mood boards covered in photos of fresh flowers with neon pistils and sunny petals, Chapman’s black leather leggings and spiked Louboutins are a breath of city air. “I don’t have a green thumb at all!” Chapman admits, but her creative process is definitely organic. When it comes to design, her philosophy is simple: “When something speaks to you, you know.”
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