Georgina Chapman announces she will leave Harvey Weinstein
NEW YORK: Designers Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig are two fashion swans worthy of the red carpet gowns they create for A-list stars. So exactly how will their dramatic luxury brand Marchesa fare in the onslaught of sexual abuse claims against Chapman’s disgraced husband, Harvey Weinstein?
Chapman took what some believed was her only brand-saving leap Tuesday as allegations against Weinstein mounted, breaking her silence when she told People she was leaving the film mogul she married in 2007. The divorce revelation, following Weinstein’s remarks last week that she was standing by her man, came as some on social media called for a Marchesa boycott.
“My heart breaks for all the women who have suffered tremendous pain because of these unforgivable actions. I have chosen to leave my husband. Caring for my young children is my first priority and I ask the media for privacy at this time,” Chapman said in her statement.
Marchesa did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday.
As fashion fairytales go, this one is a classic — for Chapman and Weinstein, to be sure, but also for Chapman and Craig. The pair has been best friends since they met as teens in a life drawing class nearly a quarter century ago at the Chelsea College of Art & Design in London, Elle magazine wrote in 2011.
The Marchesa origin story reads like this: The 41-year-old Chapman was an actress working as a costume designer in 2003 when she was spotted at a party in one of her own designs by the late fashion magazine editor and muse Isabella Blow, who urged her to focus on the art of evening dressing. Chapman and Craig were already considering a company of their own at the time, founding the brand in 2004, the year Chapman met Weinstein at a party in New York City.