Harvey Weinstein, film producer and co-founder of Miramax and The Weinstein Company, has been in the news since The New York Times and The New Yorker published a feature and an investigative report accusing the producer of sexually harassing, assaulting and raping many women. Quite a few women working in the film industry came forward to report similar experiences, among them Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie who accused the producer of sexual harassment; Italian actress Asia Argento, and actress Lucia Evans, who accused Weinstein of forcing them to engage in sex or sex acts, and Louisette Geiss a former actress turned screenwriter, who claimed Weinstein offered to greenlight her screenplay if she watched him masturbate.
So, in the last ten days the sad truth behind Hollywood glamour started coming out, proving that not much has changed in this world and that power is often abused by the very few (men) who have it and who use it to make or break the careers of young women.
As a result of the allegations against him, Weinstein was fired from his company and expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, while his wife Georgina Chapman, co-designer and co-founder of the Marchesa fashion brand with Keren Craig, annouced she was divorcing him.
Yet, this story should make us think from different points of view: first and foremost it proves that sexual harassment is still rife, no matter if you're a glamorous actress working in the film industry or an ordinary woman (at least sixteen former or current executives and assistants at Weinstein's companies spoke about unwanted sexual contact or advances in the workplace...). Besides, though Weinstein is the main protagonist of this story, many people who knew about his behaviour remained silent, confirming that the victims of sexual assaults are left to suffer alone or they are encouraged to shut up and get on with their lives as if nothing had happened.
Weinstein's precipitous downfall also opened the path to other investigations: actress Felicity Huffman stated a few days ago that the producer forced her to wear his wife's Marchesa designs on the red carpet. According to reports, Weinstein told her that he would have stopped to financially supporting her 2005 film "TransAmerica" if she didn't wear Marchesa at various events.
Besides, according to a Los Angeles fashion publicist, also Sienna Miller had to wear Marchesa to the 2007 Golden Globes after just starring in Weinstein's movie "Factory Girl".
Chapman met Weinstein at a party in 2004, the same year she set up her fashion brand, and he helped her getting the label on track not just financially: though they had a limited experience as designers, Champan and Craig ended up dressing many Hollywood stars in just a few years.
They got a big break when Renée Zellweger donned a Marchesa dress to the London premiere of "Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason" (produced by Weinstein's company Miramax) in 2004. Almost ten years later, in a 2013 Vogue interview, Weinstein actually admitted supporting Marchesa by stating: "Maybe I helped, but just very, very little, with Renée Zellweger."
In the years that followed more actresses who starred in Weinstein-produced movies donned Marchesa on the red carpet, among them also Nicole Kidman, Halle Berry, Sandra Bullock, Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Lawrence, Cate Blanchett, Blake Lively and Anne Hathaway.
Weinstein's influence also worked the other way: celebrities had to wear Marchesa, but Chapman also appeared in several films produced by him, including "Derailed", "Factory Girl" and "The Nanny Diaries".
Forcing somebody to wear a gown by one designer rather than another is not a crime and it is definitely not a serious allegation compared with what has surfaced about Weinstein's sex addiction problems. Yet in this case the fashion aspect is rather interesting: it appears indeed that Weinstein was trying to forge the careers of many women behind the closed doors of his hotel bedrooms, while he was controlling their bodies in public on the red carpet.
By "helping" his wife's label using his connections and influence (something that may explain also the presence of Marchesa's Christmas tree style gown at the 2016 Met Gala - after all, the producer was a regular at this event), Weinstein also seemed to imply that she wasn't talented enough to make it by herself (one thing is investing money in a business venture such as a fashion label, another forcing a celebrity to wear your partner's gowns...).
The producer's behaviour has obviously damaged the brand: not many actresses will want to wear a Marchesa gown from now on, while Helzberg Diamonds announced it was cancelling a collection of engagement rings in collaboration with the brand (Marchesa also cancelled its summer 2018 preview).
Weinstein, who is also the former "Project Runway" producer (and put Chapman in the show...), sat for a decade in the front-row of Chapman's fashion show next to famous fashion people like Vogue's Anna Wintour who, after an initial silence, condemned his behaviour.
Some of Weinstein's most famous collaborators (including Meryl Streep and Glenn Close) have just severed ties with him, but it remains to be seen what will happen to Chapman and Marchesa in the next few weeks. In the meantime, here's a lesson for wannabe fashion designers: building your brand with the financial help of a manipulative billionaire bully and sexual predator won't get you anywhere.
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