Now that Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig have started photographing their collections out in nature, they’ll probably never go back to a standard lookbook shoot. Last season, they took their Spring 2019 gowns to a lush forest outside the city, and the setting for these Pre-Fall images was a greenhouse in the Bronx. On a chilly December afternoon, it served as something of an otherworldly escape: Drenched in sunlight and bursting with massive ferns, fruit trees, and multicolored blooms, you’d swear the gowns had been photographed in Florida or Mexico. How’s that for transportive?
Of course, flowers are Marchesa’s most consistent signature; it only made sense to show Pre-Fall’s watercolor florals, 3-D tulle petals, and intricate embroideries surrounded by the real-life flora and fauna they were inspired by. Those florals were a bit of a departure for Chapman and Craig, actually; they still captured the brand’s signature romance but felt surprisingly bolder and more graphic. Consider the blown-up, blurred-edge watercolor prints or the “lattice lace” of a black tiered gown. With stark, crisscrossing lines, the motif lent some edge to an otherwise soft-looking dress. It had a similar effect on a coral gown covered in swirling floral embroideries and trimmed with marabou feathers. That lattice lace was a subtle nod to early-20th-century artist Karin Larsson, who was married to Carl Larsson. Unsurprisingly, his is the better-known name. Karin’s hand-painted furniture, in particular, stood out to Chapman and Craig for its blend of sleek geometric lines and brightly painted flowers.
The bigger news for Pre-Fall was the expanded offering of separates and daywear. A sheer tuxedo blouse was shown with a full skirt but could easily pair with jeans; there were “going-out tops” in bright florals; and for working women looking for a glamorous, unstuffy alternative to the standard 9-to-5 shirtdress, Chapman and Craig introduced a pretty jewel-tone, floral-printed silk version trimmed with lace.
