Marchesa Fall 2014

Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig depicted this season’s Marchesa muse as “our Scottish woman who’s a little bit more disheveled in winter, with this static hair like she’s running through the fields in the Highlands.” While this notion conjured up theatrical visions of tartans and kilts, there was nothing Braveheart about the glam eveningwear Chapman and Craig sent out for Fall. The design duo loosely reinterpreted those quintessential Scottish motifs in characteristically opulent fashion. They riffed on the idea of heritage plaids with a group of “tartan” lace cocktail dresses (falling on the more casual end of the spectrum), which were exquisitely dip-dyed, foiled, and reembroidered. If you squinted hard enough, you could vaguely make out a faint crosshatch pattern created with the delicate patchwork of materials. Several of these styles featured corsetry touches in back, echoing the lace-up details found on towering, heelless wedges and pointy flats—the models who wore the latter clearly won the lottery on that one.

Elsewhere, Chapman and Craig experimented with intricate draping techniques to create the impression of “deconstructed kilts,” which looked beautiful in burnt orange chiffon and black Chantilly. Meanwhile, a lavish take on classic argyle knits incorporated cables of fox fur and more lace. Paired with an appliquéd tulle cocktail skirt, the luxe pullover look provided a modern alternative to standard gowns. Speaking of, the Academy Awards are just around the corner, and given Marchesa’s proven celebrity following, we’re bound to see a few of these numbers walk right off the runway and onto the red carpet. The question is: which ones? “We’ll find out later this week,” said Chapman. While nobody is going to place their bets on the voluminous marabou skirt here, the dramatic, off-the shoulder finale ball gown cut from hand-pleated silk faille in the perfect shade of Oscars-statuette gold might just be a winning ticket.