2. 412
Femme sauvage. THIS
PAGE: Marabou feather
cape, $2,795, and gown,
$2,695, Dsquared2.
dsquared.com. Tiara,
$1,430, Iradj Moini.
Mariko, NYC; 212-472-1176.
Earrings, necklace, and
bracelets, Kwiat. 212-
725-7777. OPPOSITE
PAGE: Coat, $4,475,
Etro. 212-317-9096.
Necklace, $2,835, Lanvin.
33-1-4471-3173. Bracelet,
Cartier. 800-CARTIER. See
Where to Buy for details.
3. 414
Zac Posen channels the
great couturiers like
Fortuny and Poiret, with
whom the marchesa
consorted. Gown, $6,700,
Zac Posen. Outfit at Wynn,
Las Vegas; 702-770-3465.
Bracelet, $1,430, Iradj
Moini. The Plaza hotel,
NYC; 212-753-5666.
Menswear: Tuxedo, Tom
Ford. Shirt, Yves Saint
Laurent. Bird pin, by
special order, Marchesa.
marchesa.com.
“Perhapsifshewerealivetoday,
shewouldbea
desıgner,”Chapmanmuses
4. 417
Body-baring gowns and haute
headdresses appealed to La
Casati’s penchant for drama.
THIS PAGE: Gown, by special
order, Marchesa. marchesa
.com. Ring, Kwiat. 212-725-
7777. Bangles, $695 each,
Ippolita. ippolita.com.
OPPOSITE PAGE: Pajama set,
$3,550, Dolce & Gabbana.
877-70-DGUSA. Hat, Philip
Treacy Haute Couture.
44-207-730-3992. Brooch (on
hat), Bulgari. 800-BULGARI.
Cuff, Van Cleef & Arpels.
877-VAN-CLEEF. White pearls,
Mikimoto. 888-701-2323. Star
necklace, $8,700, Mattioli
Jewelry. 800-827-7590. See
Where to Buy for details.
BEAUTY BAZAAR
Go glam with a spritz of David
Yurman Eau de Parfum ($120).
5. 418
At home in her Edenic Palazzo
dei Leoni, a serpent was the
marchesa’s favorite accessory.
Dress, $2,580, Prada.
888-977-1900. Snake bracelet,
$1,850, Gara Danielle Fine
Jewelry. garadanielle.com.
Enamel bangles, $985–$4,940,
M.C.L. by Matthew Campbell
Laurenza. Neiman Marcus;
888-888-4757. Rhinestone
bangles, $300–$500, Kenneth
Jay Lane. 877-953-5264. Hair:
Ward for Living Proof;
makeup: Wendy Rowe for
Lancôme; manicure: Myrdith
Leon McCormack for M2M;
production: Susannah Phillips
for North Six; prop styling:
Andrew Ondrejcak. Shot
on location at Greystone
Court, New York.
hemarchesaCasati’s
outfits looked more like costumes than
clothes,” designer Georgina Chapman says
whencomparingherfashionline,Marchesa,
with the brand’s namesake. An Italian
noblewoman, Marchesa Luisa Casati tore a
feathered and gem-strewn swath through
Europe during the first three decades of the
20thcentury.“That’swhatIloveabouther,”
says Chapman. “She was brave and fun.”
Chapman launched the Marchesa
collection in 2004 with a longtime friend,
textile designer Keren Craig. Since then,
the red-carpet-ready, old-
Hollywood-type confections
havebecomeasensationwith
stars like Sienna Miller and
JenniferLopez,partlybecause
“when someone is buying a
gown, they need to feel they
can wear it,” she says. Wear
ability,sheacknowledges,was
neveranissuefortheoriginal
marchesa,whowasknownto
sit through entire dinners
with live snakes coiled round her neck, like
slithering strands of pearls.
“The marchesa had a very daring vision
of what she wanted to become, and she
expressedthatthroughfashion,”saysMichael
OrlandoYaccarino,who,withcoauthorScot
D.Ryersson,wrotethebookonthemarchesa.
(Their 1999 biography, InfiniteVariety, will
be joined this fall by a coffee-table book fea-
turing never-before published images from
the Casati Archives.)
Six feet tall and rail thin, with scarlet-
tinted Medusa curls (which she once dyed
to match a tiger’s stripes), the marchesa
collaboratedwiththedesignersoftheday—
including Fortuny, Poiret, and Worth as
well as Russian costume designers Erté and
Léon Bakst—on ever more spectacular
sartorial “happenings.” Sometimes she was
accompaniedtoherfittingsbyalife-sizewax
replicasothatcouturierscouldcraftmatching
outfits. She would then bring the doll to
dinner and spend the evening sitting
perfectly still next to it in a mischievous
human shell game. “She was a performance
artist,” Yaccarino says. With each new
ensemble, “she was creating an event.”
True to her mantra, “I want to be a living
work of art,” the marchesa viewed every
occasionasabalmasqué,whetheritinvolved
taking her pet cheetahs out for a midnight
stroll around Venice’s Piazza San Marco
wearingnothing but afurcoat (the cheetahs
wore jewels) or hosting a masquerade in
Paris bedecked as infamous Italian occultist
Cagliostro and brandishing a “magic” crys-
tal saber.The sword no doubt added to her
fearsomepersonawhenthemarchesalocked
in a closet one ill-advised female guest who
had copied her costume.
Chapmancitesthisintensesenseofrivalry
as a key difference between herself and her
muse:“Sheneededtobecenterstage.”Asfor
the lengths to which the marchesa went in
ordertogetthere,includingaugmentingher
already huge eyes with drops of poisonous
belladonnaextract,Chapmanputsitincon-
text: “When you think of what women do
to their bodies now—full-on dangerous
surgeries, breast fillers, chemicals in your
hair—actually, belladonna seems tame.”
True,themarchesa’sotherworldlyappear-
ance attracted scandal among the bon ton
oftheday,but it also attracted admirers. She
was married to Marchese Camillo Casati in
1900, but the couple became estranged not
long after the birth of their only child, Cris-
tina (for whom she also had little time).
While the marchesa carried on many
romances, her great love was Italian poet
and power broker Gabriele D’Annunzio,
almost 20 years her senior. Having met the
marchesa when she was a young, relatively
conventional bride, D’Annunzio at least
partially inspired her theatrical streak by
exposing her to his arty crowd.
Like the scribe and his inamorata, Chap-
man and her husband, Harvey Weinstein,
surround themselves with artistic types, but
Chapman says the similarity ends there. “I
think my husband might be a bit upset if
I walked the cheetahs out naked in theWest
Village at night,” she says, laughing.
The marchesa’s bohemian habits only
added to the legend, as did the endless por-
traitsshecommissionedfromartists,includ-
ing painters Giovanni Boldini, Giacomo
Balla, and Augustus John as well as photog-
rapherBarondeMeyer.Shewasevenimmor-
talized by fashion illustrator Étienne Drian
in the November 1923 issue of Bazaar. Her
incessant input and self-obsession both cap-
tivated and enslaved those with whom she
worked, but the reward for putting up with
the marchesa’s diva behavior was well worth
it for some. Among the many creative types
she championed was a relatively unknown
Man Ray, who famously portrayed the vain
beautywithsixeyes,muchtoherdelight.“To
another woman, that would be horrifying
anditwouldmostlikelyhavebeendestroyed,”
avers Ryersson, “whereas the marchesa said,
‘You portrayed my soul, I love it, it’s fantas-
tic.’ ”The 1922 photo was partially respon-
sible for launching Man Ray’s
career as a photographer and
became one of the most iconic
images of the marchesa, further
cementing her place in history.
Which suited the marchesa—
and her third-millennium-style
lustforcelebrity—justfine.“Per-
haps if she were alive today, she
would be a designer,” Chapman
muses. “Or she would have
found a product to endorse.”
On one level, the thought might have
horrified the woman who scoffed, “What is
fortune compared to the dignity of art?
Nothing!”Onanother,itmighthavehelped
finance her lifestyle. Once considered Italy’s
richestwoman,shespentthelastyearsofher
life penniless. “She squandered all the
money. Millions and millions,” Chapman
sighs, incredulous.“It’sagoodtakeonwhat’s
happening now [in the world]. Her life was
oneofcompleteexcess; then she had to reas-
sess everything.”
Unsurprisingly,themarchesatookashow-
must-go-on attitude in the face of poverty.
“She was still able to maintain her aesthetic
by her own inventiveness,”Yaccarino notes.
“She would get a little scrap of clothing and
make herself spectacular. Living a beautiful
life is not something that’s determined by
economy.” Jenna Gabrial Gallagher
T
“Ithinkmyhusband
mightbeabıtupsetif
Iwalkedthecheetahs
outnakedintheWestVillage
atnight,”saysGeorginaChapman
HB To see Marchesa’s spring collection,
log on to HarpersBazaar.com/Marchesa
