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Marchesa Will Return To Fashion Week Following Weinstein Scandal

Photo: George Pimentel/FilmMagic.
Georgina Chapman has been lying low in the months since news broke that her estranged husband, Harvey Weinstein, allegedly assaulted and harassed dozens of women. She filed for divorce almost immediately, but many have presumed that her fashion label would suffer by association. While the full fallout from the scandal remains to be seen, Marchesa is set to resurface this winter, showing at New York Fashion Week on 14th February, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Chapman last presented her designs on 5th October, just as the allegations against her husband were being published.
Marchesa, which Chapman co-founded with Keren Craig in 2004, long enjoyed a reputation as a red carpet and bridal favourite. Regardless of whether or not Chapman was aware of her husband's actions, her label benefited by its association with actresses who were involved in Weinstein productions. Actress Felicity Huffman told THR that Weinstein compelled her to wear Marchesa when she was promoting Transamerica.
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Still, some see it as unfair to blame his wife for what he did. Meghan McCain said as much after wearing a Marchesa gown to her wedding last month,
"The scandal erupted and everybody was like, are you going to keep the dress?" the Arizona senator's daughter told People. "And I was like, why should the two women designers be punished for a man’s disgusting behaviour? I just didn’t wanna feel like the people who had worked there and make their livelihood should be punished as well."
Chapman's friend Alyssa Milano recently told Megyn Kelly on Today that the designer is sad and "goes through very dark times," but that she would come out on the other side. This statement upset Milano's Charmed costar Rose McGowan, who claims Weinstein raped her.
"You make me want to vomit. You actually gave me a body flashback," McGowan tweeted after Milano's interview. "Alyssa, maybe you and Georgina can call up Camille Cosby."
An executive at Neiman Marcus told THR that Marchesa sales have not been affected by the Weinstein news this fall. When awards season gets under way in January and February, the red carpet will be the true test of whether celebrities feel they can wear Marchesa without feeling like they're siding against victims of sexual assault.
If you have experienced sexual violence of any kind, please visit Rape Crisis or call 0808 802 9999.

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