Maria Grachvogel
Encyclopedia
Maria Grachvogel is a British fashion design
er. Grachvogel designs under her own label, has a store in Sloane Street
and regularly stages shows at London Fashion Week
. Her clients have included Emma Thompson
, Scarlett Johansson
, Angelina Jolie
, and Victoria Beckham
, who has modelled for her at London Fashion Week.
father and Irish
mother. She was a keen designer as a teenager, creating her first collection at the age of 14. On leaving school she initially pursued a career in the City
to raise capital
to start her own business, passing a London Stock Exchange
examination at the age of 17.
with a friend and fellow designer. After the partnership ended, she briefly returned to working in the City, but resumed designing within six months. She founded her own company
in January 1991, aged 21, with a collection of nine dresses. She exhibited at London Fashion Week
for the first time in 1994, and staged her first catwalk show there in 1995.
Grachvogel attracted international attention when Victoria Beckham appeared as a model in her February 2000 catwalk show at London Fashion Week. Beckham appeared first in green satin
hot pants, followed by a flamenco
-styled crimson gown, and reappeared at the end of the show in a long off-the-shoulder red dress.
Later that year Grachvogel again attracted publicity when she designed a dress hand-sewn with 2,000 diamond
s worth approximately £250,000 for her September show. The dress was a long black silk
evening gown
slashed to the thigh, with the diamonds in rows on the bodice
. The diamonds were set in 18-carat
gold
and totalled 190 carats
in weight. The dress was modelled by Jodie Kidd
, and formed the finale to the show.
Grachvogel launched her store in 2001, based in Sloane Street
. Her designs include "Magic Pants", trousers without pockets or side seams designed to give the wearer a smooth silhouette. In 2010 the Flagshipe store moved to 18 Culford Gardens, London SW3. For the Paris Fashion week 2011 she exposes at the Cremerie de Paris
Fashion design
Fashion design is the art of the application of design and aesthetics or natural beauty to clothing and accessories. Fashion design is influenced by cultural and social latitudes, and has varied over time and place. Fashion designers work in a number of ways in designing clothing and accessories....
er. Grachvogel designs under her own label, has a store in Sloane Street
Sloane Street
Sloane Street is a major London street which runs north to south, from Knightsbridge to Sloane Square, crossing Pont Street about half way along, entirely in The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Sloane Street takes its name from Sir Hans Sloane, who purchased the surrounding area in 1712...
and regularly stages shows at London Fashion Week
London Fashion Week
London Fashion Week is an apparel trade show held in London, England twice each year, in February and September. It is one of the "Big Four" fashion weeks, along with New York Fashion Week, Milan Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week.-Organization:...
. Her clients have included Emma Thompson
Emma Thompson
Emma Thompson is a British actress, comedian and screenwriter. Her first major film role was in the 1989 romantic comedy The Tall Guy. In 1992, Thompson won multiple acting awards, including an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress, for her performance in the British drama Howards End...
, Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson is an American actress, model and singer.Johansson made her film debut in North and was later nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead for her performance in Manny & Lo . She rose to further prominence with her roles in The Horse Whisperer and Ghost World...
, Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie is an American actress. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and was named Hollywood's highest-paid actress by Forbes in 2009 and 2011. Jolie is noted for promoting humanitarian causes as a Goodwill Ambassador for the...
, and Victoria Beckham
Victoria Beckham
Victoria Caroline Beckham is an English singer-songwriter, dancer, model, actress, fashion designer and businesswoman. In the late 1990s, Beckham rose to fame with the all-female pop group Spice Girls and was dubbed Posh Spice by the July 1996 issue of the British pop music magazine Top of the Pops...
, who has modelled for her at London Fashion Week.
Early life and career
Maria Grachvogel was born in London to a PolishPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
father and Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
mother. She was a keen designer as a teenager, creating her first collection at the age of 14. On leaving school she initially pursued a career in the City
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
to raise capital
Financial capital
Financial capital can refer to money used by entrepreneurs and businesses to buy what they need to make their products or provide their services or to that sector of the economy based on its operation, i.e. retail, corporate, investment banking, etc....
to start her own business, passing a London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
examination at the age of 17.
Design career
Grachvogel's first fashion business was a partnershipPartnership
A partnership is an arrangement where parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests.Since humans are social beings, partnerships between individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments, and varied combinations thereof, have always been and remain commonplace...
with a friend and fellow designer. After the partnership ended, she briefly returned to working in the City, but resumed designing within six months. She founded her own company
Company
A company is a form of business organization. It is an association or collection of individual real persons and/or other companies, who each provide some form of capital. This group has a common purpose or focus and an aim of gaining profits. This collection, group or association of persons can be...
in January 1991, aged 21, with a collection of nine dresses. She exhibited at London Fashion Week
London Fashion Week
London Fashion Week is an apparel trade show held in London, England twice each year, in February and September. It is one of the "Big Four" fashion weeks, along with New York Fashion Week, Milan Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week.-Organization:...
for the first time in 1994, and staged her first catwalk show there in 1995.
Grachvogel attracted international attention when Victoria Beckham appeared as a model in her February 2000 catwalk show at London Fashion Week. Beckham appeared first in green satin
Satin
Satin is a weave that typically has a glossy surface and a dull back. It is a warp-dominated weaving technique that forms a minimum number of interlacings in a fabric. If a fabric is formed with a satin weave using filament fibres such as silk, nylon, or polyester, the corresponding fabric is...
hot pants, followed by a flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
-styled crimson gown, and reappeared at the end of the show in a long off-the-shoulder red dress.
Later that year Grachvogel again attracted publicity when she designed a dress hand-sewn with 2,000 diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
s worth approximately £250,000 for her September show. The dress was a long black silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
evening gown
Evening gown
An evening gown is a long flowing women's dress usually worn to a formal affair. It ranges from tea and ballerina to full-length. Evening gowns are often made of a luxury fabric such as chiffon, velvet, satin, or silk...
slashed to the thigh, with the diamonds in rows on the bodice
Bodice
A bodice, historically, is an article of clothing for women, covering the body from the neck to the waist. In modern usage it typically refers to a specific type of upper garment common in Europe during the 16th to the 18th century, or to the upper portion of a modern dress to distinguish it from...
. The diamonds were set in 18-carat
Carat (purity)
The karat or carat is a unit of purity for gold alloys.- Measure :Karat purity is measured as 24 times the purity by mass:where...
gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
and totalled 190 carats
Carat (mass)
The carat is a unit of mass equal to 200 mg and is used for measuring gemstones and pearls.The current definition, sometimes known as the metric carat, was adopted in 1907 at the Fourth General Conference on Weights and Measures, and soon afterward in many countries around the world...
in weight. The dress was modelled by Jodie Kidd
Jodie Kidd
Jodie Kidd is an English television personality and fashion model.-Early life:Jodie was a showjumper as a child and attended St Michael's School, Petworth.-Family:Jodie is the granddaughter from Hon...
, and formed the finale to the show.
Grachvogel launched her store in 2001, based in Sloane Street
Sloane Street
Sloane Street is a major London street which runs north to south, from Knightsbridge to Sloane Square, crossing Pont Street about half way along, entirely in The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Sloane Street takes its name from Sir Hans Sloane, who purchased the surrounding area in 1712...
. Her designs include "Magic Pants", trousers without pockets or side seams designed to give the wearer a smooth silhouette. In 2010 the Flagshipe store moved to 18 Culford Gardens, London SW3. For the Paris Fashion week 2011 she exposes at the Cremerie de Paris