The effects of Harvey Weinstein‘s sexual assaults, which were first reported in the New York Times last week, are now trickling down to both Marchesa, the evening and bridal label designed by Weinstein’s wife Georgina Chapman, and Donna Karan, as Twitter is buzzing with boycotts of the two brands for their association with the Hollywood film producer, who was recently fired from the Weinstein Company.
Chapman and her co-founder Karen Craig may be able to recoup Marchesa’s caché swiftly, as Chapman announced Tuesday night that she was leaving Weinstein, her husband of 10 years. “My heart breaks for all the women who have suffered tremendous pain because of these unforgivable actions. I have chosen to leave my husband. Caring for my young children is my first priority and I ask the media for privacy at this time,” Chapman said in a statement to People magazine. Weinstein was a fixture at Marchesa’s lavish runway shows, often seated next to Vogue’s Anna Wintour in the front row and reportedly used his extensive connections in Hollywood to get A-list actresses like Jennifer Lopez, Penelope Cruz and Renee Zellweger into Marchesa gowns in the infancy of the label.
But Chapman’s divorce announcement may help the brand.
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Repairing the image of Donna Karan International amidst the scandal may prove more difficult, however. The designer’s initial statements on the sexual harassment seemed to support Weinstein, as she told the U.K.’s Daily Mail that women may be “asking for it” by dressing seductively.
“You look at everything all over the world today and how women are dressing and what they are asking by just presenting themselves the way they do. What are they asking for? Trouble,” she told the publication in a red carpet interview Sunday night. She later retracted her statements, but her namesake company — which she left in 2015 — has already suffered. WWD reported that the stock of the label’s parent company G-III was hit in early-morning trading, though it managed to rise 0.51 percent Tuesday to close at $27.75.
Karan stepped away from the company in 2015 but continues to design for her own company, Urban Zen.
