Designers Keren Craig and Georgina Chapman launched Marchesa only in 2004 and today they are one of the top choices for the red carpet. They use delicate, sheer fabrics, flowy silhouettes, a wide array of colors and often global inspired designs that give their dresses a boho touch.
Did you know that Marchesa was launched on the red carpet by Renee Z during the London premier of Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason in 2004. This dress used Indian silks in the typical maroon-red color and was embellished heavily with golden threads and beads.
Not a fan of this dress but hats off to Renee for choosing it and carrying it so well
Some other stars who wore Indian inspired gowns on the red carpet:
Mary J Blige at Cannes, 2008. I really like this one.
Diane Kruger at the Golden Globes, 2005. This is SO perfect for a Bollywood item song!
For their Spring 2013 runway collection, they looked at India for inspiration again. And they sure did an amazing job.
They used characteristic Indian colors like Maroon, Gold, Orange, Fuchsia and Deep Blue. They used silhouettes that remind you of the epic Indian sari with lots of embellishment, of course. There were also simpler, but elegant outfits that comprised of a tunic top and cropped pants, much similar to our Salwar/Churidar-Kameez.
I find the collection very wearable. If you look at the cuts, fabrics, colors and embellishments, you will be amazed to see how smoothly Indian embroidery and silhouettes have been conjured to create an overall non-Indian look. By using fabrics like brocade and silk and by incorporating embroidery and embellishments that are very typical of traditional Indian outfits, they pretty much covered what Indian fashion stands for.
I would love to see more of such pieces on the Red Carpet in the coming years.
(This is the first of the ‘India Inspired Designer Collection’ series).
Everything Fusion 