Rapt by Madame Butterfly ... Marchesa SS2011

September 19, 2010

Rapt by Madame Butterfly ... Marchesa SS2011

Would you wear oversized doilies folded as an oversized origami for, say the Golden Globe Awards red carpet next year? Unless if your aim is to supersede Lady Gaga or Peaches or any kook you have in mind, I bet your answer would be no.

But what if I say the dress is designed by the famous designer duo Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig of Marchesa? Now I hear a plausible ‘yes’ echoing throughout the fashion realm, which is tremendously great.

As a brand that is synonymous with high luxury and unparalleled elegance, Marchesa is no stranger to the red carpet fashion scene at almost every award shows held in Tinseltown or around the world.

To recap, actress/singer/entrepreneur Jennifer Lopez had been seen in Marchesa at the Golden Globe Awards a number of times (the backless gold dress circa 2009 edition was truly unforgettable), ditto Blake Lively of the Gossip Girl who stunned the paps and the guests at the 2010 Costume Institute Gala at The Met in a beautifully draped one-shoulder blue mini dress opulently swathed with appliquéd roses.

For spring/summer 2011, Chapman and Craig continuously keep the fashion editors, buyers and Marchesa fans dumbfounded with a slew of meticulously crafted clothes – the result of their combined expertises and craftsmanship. The collection features a criss-cross between the fashion nuances of the contemporary west with the long prevailed artistic side of the Far Eastern culture.

Case in point: Sheer column dress heavily prettified with butterfly embroideries that are most probably inspired by the traditional Chinese art of the ornamental paper-cutting, as well as a full-skirted and scrupulously draped ball gown in midnight blue decorated with hand painted leitmotif of blossoming Chinese peonies.

Aside from the Far Eastern motif ‘invasion’, accolades are also given to Marchesa’s crafty drapes – liquid and sinuously flow with the wearer’s body – that has been the brand’s trademark since. What’s more, some of the drapes are also sprinkled with lush beads and delicate pearls – either in strings or as patterns across the pieces - that are all painstakingly done to evoke tremendous elegance and affluence.

An allusion to the glorious Elizabethan period can be seen on one of the highlighted pieces – gossamer off-white chiffon draped fitted dress with its corseted, peplumed bodice being deeply embellished with beads and pearls, thoroughly arranged in a pattern that is common to the said period.

Marchesa spring/summer 2011 ready-to-wear collection will be available at leading fine department stores, select multi-brand boutiques and online luxury retailers worldwide starting early next year. Marchesa’s diffusion line – Notte by Marchesa – is currently available at Aseana, Suria KLCC.