Q&A: Keren Craig of Marchesa

Photography by Rodrigo Gaya on November 19th, 2013 in Celebrity, Creative, Editorials, Fashion

Jessica Santiago & Keren Craig

Bal Harbour, FL – November 15, 2013 – They are the women behind the stunning gowns labeled Marchesa. Designers Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig have long owned the red carpet during awards season. And their gowns, with lace detail, posh fabrics and stunning silhouettes, are a go-to for celebs looking to capture the attention of the paparazzi. But the duo isn’t just relegated to Hollywood soirees. The launch of their first contemporary line, Marchesa Voyage, earlier this year means the brand is now dressing for daytime as well as the most incredible evenings out. Pulling inspiration from the sleek and sexy era of the ‘70s, the two said the line was created to fill a void in their own closets. Craig admits when she isn’t decked out in a gown, she gladly dresses up in her latest creations. Yet she still has a love affair with her stunning frocks, which is why she headed to Neiman Marcus at Bal Harbour Shops last week to debut the spring 2014 and resort collections. Taking a page from fashions bygone but extremely glamorous days, Craig introduced her latest offering, filled with stunning gowns in metallic trims, lace-adorned bodices and flowing skirts that rival wedding dresses. Here, we catch up with Craig to find out what she most loves from her own line, as well as what we can expect for seasons to come.

Keren Craig & Jessica Santiago

How did you get into design?

I studied design. Georgina Chapman and I actually studied design at Chelsea Art College when we were both 18, and then we both went off and did degrees at different art colleges. I studied fashion textiles. Georgina studied costume design. I feel like for both of us it has always been in our bones.

You have a lot of metallics in this collection. Was that your inspiration?

We looked at a Victorian curiosity box, so that was really our inspiration. It’s a melting pot of different eras, different ideas. We have a little metallic, layering pieces, bias slips from the ‘20s and ‘30s, and we also looked at ‘50s silhouettes. It’s really a melting pot. A lot of metallic laces and a lot of laces for the bras and underwear in the pieces from the runway show, as well.

What’s your favorite era to pull inspiration from?

It’s so hard to say. I think it changes every season. It’s really how you are feeling at the time. I love the ‘20s, ‘30s, and ‘50s. It’s about glamour and romantic aesthetics. We actually launched our contemporary line with a lot of inspiration from the ‘70s.

When it comes to awards season, you are the go-to. You’ve dressed a million celebs, but who has been your most favorite to dress?

I think for us one of our most exciting times was when we dressed Sandra Bullock for the Oscars, and she won the Oscar in our dress.

What did that feel like?

It was the most incredible feeling. I honestly didn’t know she was going to win. She is an incredible actress. Georgina was actually there and when I was watching it we felt like we won it, too.

When did you know you hit the big time? What was that defining moment?

As a designer I think the best feeling that you can have is to see someone out and about at an event or party who has bought your dress. Not someone who has borrowed it, but someone who has gone out and loved your piece enough to buy it. I think that is such a great feeling. Once that happened we were like, “Oh, this is really happening.”

When you aren’t wearing your things who do you most love to wear?

The good thing about the contemporary line is that now I have things to wear because we have daytime. I wear a lot of vintage but now we have the Marchesa Voyage line I wear that every day. I’m very excited about that. We came up with the idea because we couldn’t find pieces we wanted to wear, so we made them instead.

What do you like to do when you are in Miami?

I love to go to Casa Tua, it’s my favorite restaurant. I like to go to Soho house, but I’m not staying there. We always stay at The Tides. It’s our go-to hotel in Miami. I love going to the beach, the shops. I’m going to The Webster today. I haven’t been yet.

If we are looking toward what we should purchase for spring next year, what is the one quintessential item every Miami girl needs?

We were talking about the metallic lace, I think it needs to be a metallic lace piece in silver or gold. We have both.

And where would we wear it?

To a fabulous event and if you haven’t got a fabulous event to go to, you need to throw a fabulous event to wear it to.

Give us a glimpse into next fall

We are working on it now. Literally, we have the idea but things change so much—it’s a very organic process. We work about six months in advance, but we actually have our first meeting with out stylist, Alex White, on Monday so we will have a much clearer idea on Monday. Like I said, it’s very organic how it happens. There may be a million ideas that go on the board, but in time, it goes in a slightly different direction.

What’s your favorite piece?

For the collection out now it’s the gold lace dress. I just put my order in for that one. It’s definitely one of the ones that stand out for me.