It was a torrent of women who came forward with disgusting stories of alleged abuse at the hands of now-disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein.
Throughout it all, Weinstein’s wife Georgina Chapman, founder of the fashion line Marchesa, has been there in the background in a seemingly stunned silence.
In October, 41-year-old Chapman announced in a statement she’s leaving Weinstein, 65, and said she’s focusing on looking after their two children together, seven-year-old India and four-year-old Dashiell.
She also apologised to the countless women for the “unforgivable” pain her husband caused.
But now she is pulling out from showcasing Marchesa at New York Fashion Week, and we are left wondering: has Weinstein’s poison infected her brand, also?
There are stories from stars such as Jessica Chastain and Felicity Huffman that Weinstein forced them to wear his wife’s label to events, The Cut reports. An investigation from Jezebel showed leading Miramax ladies commonly wore Marchesa on the red carpet. You can’t help but wonder: How much of this was coerced?
Until today, Chapman was planning a Marchesa show at New York Fashion Week alongside her partner Keren Craig, The Cut reports. The latest collection was set to appear on the runway on February 14 – in only two weeks time.
“Georgina couldn’t go through with it,” says an Fashion Week vet told The New York Post. “She was too scared. They were gung-ho but as they got closer, she choked.”
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In a statement to People, the brand’s spokesperson said Chapman is not giving up and will “present their fall ‘18 collection in an updated format this season”.
And sure, a lookbook for the collection has already been released but – other than that – the brand, and Chapman, have remained silent.
There’ve been none of the usual press appointments, People reports. And pulling out of NYFW is another indication that Weinstein’s evil has touched the brand Marchesa, also.
The idea is sickening. That Chapman might have lost everything: her husband, her home, her work as well.
Top Comments
Alternative interpretation: she knew what her husband was up to (heaven knows, the rumours were loud enough for even non-famous people outside the industry to know them), but made the decision to be complicit and made a lot of money and advanced her career in the process. Once it became apparent that Harvey wasn't going to recover this time, she jumped ship. Personal sympathy for her? None.
Agreed. She launched the brand around the time they married, and its success was from all the young starlets in Weinstein films wearing it on the red carpet.
Funnily enough, the same starlets that have made only vague statements about sexual harassment being unacceptable "if Harvey did that", but saying Harvey never touched them - i.e. Blake Lively, Jennifer Lawrence, Alicia Vikander, Sienna Miller, Renee Zellweger and so on.
All 'It Girls' whose careers he made. All starlets who you'll find photos of looking very cosy indeed with Harvey at some point from the past at various awards nights and after-parties... hoping people have forgotten their grubby association.
I've no doubt it was a win-win-win agreement:
* Georgina (wife) - rapidly successful fashion house
* Starlet - movie stardom... career, possibly an Oscar nom
* Harvey - a f**k or five with a starlet, and if 'The Fappening' photos are any proof, some mementos as well.
Other Harvey projects include Jessica Alba, Kerry Washington and, just before the scandal broke, Zendaya.
Gretchen Moll was another Harvey Girl but that didn't pan out for her stardom for some reason.