J.Mendel 2016 Pre Fall Collection

Gilles Mendel looked at Jean Shrimpton’s “beauty and grace” and at Frank Stella’s “precisely rendered canvases” for his J.Mendel  pre-fall collection. The former was channeled via cocktail dresses with cutaway shoulders and paneled Chantilly lace ankle numbers. “I can really imagine her wearing these things today,” he said. Meanwhile, Stella’s influence came through in graphic details such as geometric black insets in a white halter gown and in pinstripes that showed up as a T-shirt dress and an off-the-shoulder jumpsuit. But the brand’s bread-and-butter is fur, and Mendel explored sportswear references for a modern take.

Sheared mink bombers came with and without a floral motif, while a mink parka featured a hood with contrasting fur trim. “It’s casual luxury,” Mendel concluded.