Marchesa, I love you...

Marchesa, New York Fashion Week a/w 2011


Inspired by Miss Havisham from Dickens' Great Expectations, Marchesa's a/w 2011 RTW collection of silk, satin, tulle and velvet dresses were absolutely beautiful. Each one embellished with crystals, pearls and feathers, Marchesa really outdid themselves. Rumour has it that one of the models found her wedding-style ivory dress particularly tricky to wear as she experienced breathing difficulties because of the huge amounts of chiffon and tulle around the neckline - a true case of suffering for one's art although to be honest, even if I died in Marchesa I'd be happy.

 

• “It was glamour with a capital G at Marchesa—and it had nothing to do with Harvey, the line of town cars as far as the eye could see, or the paparazzi buzzing around.... No, this was all about the 24 exquisite dresses inside, presented in a modern manner with dewy-faced models perched atop glossy white cubes like living artwork, or perhaps young goddesses—particularly apt for a white Grecian gown traced with gold embroidery. Though it was a tight collection, it seemed to cover so many bases: short and spirited in a little ombré fringe number, darkly soigné in an asymmetrical black lace gown, and no-holds-barred belle of the ball in a frothy lilac tulle gown with a spray of orchids crafted, unbelievably, from feathers.”

  —Meenal Mistry Style.com

• “We're women designing for women. We know how they feel in a beautiful dress. That's our focus right now.”

  —Georgina Chapman The Houston Chronicle

• “Clients pay $3,000 to $10,000 for their dresses, engineered to flatter because they are built on a scaffolding of multiple bones and elasticized panels. Ms. Chapman laid out for inspection a hand-stitched crimson brocade dress with an elaborate internal construction rarely seen since the '60s.”

  —Ruth LaFerla The New York Times

• “It was glamour with a capital G at Marchesa—and it had nothing to do with Harvey, the line of town cars as far as the eye could see, or the paparazzi buzzing around.... No, this was all about the 24 exquisite dresses inside, presented in a modern manner with dewy-faced models perched atop glossy white cubes like living artwork, or perhaps young goddesses—particularly apt for a white Grecian gown traced with gold embroidery. Though it was a tight collection, it seemed to cover so many bases: short and spirited in a little ombré fringe number, darkly soigné in an asymmetrical black lace gown, and no-holds-barred belle of the ball in a frothy lilac tulle gown with a spray of orchids crafted, unbelievably, from feathers.”

  —Meenal Mistry Style.com

• “We're women designing for women. We know how they feel in a beautiful dress. That's our focus right now.”

  —Georgina Chapman The Houston Chronicle

Shattered

I’m not normally into gimmicky products but when my aunt sent me a pot of the new O.P.I. Shatter polish I was pretty intrigued. With its cool silver “shatter effect” lid, it looks like any other black nail polish until it dries and creates what can only be described as a cracked look. For someone who spends a significant amount of time trying to work out how to make my nail varnish stay chip-free for longer, I was really surprised that I liked this product although I definitely found that it works best with brighter colours.

The instructions say that it’s best applied over a shade from O.P.I’s Katy range (their amazing collaboration with Katy Perry) but I’ve tried it over a number of polishes with successful results. 

A big shout out to Marcelle for letting me use her beautiful nails.