Believe it or not, it's a menswear moment at J. Mendel. "It's the sensibility of Spring, but with more tailoring," Gilles Mendel said at his showroom. Translation: weightless, floor-sweeping dresses topped with structured outerwear, as if the girls had borrowed their escorts' coats at the end of a chilly evening. Thanks to a liberal hand with the furs, the men's staples took on a feminine grace; in fact, they were the collection's strongest note. Wool-cashmere overcoats in black and camel were lent texture by curly-lamb linings and sleeves. Another topper ended in striated layers of lamb and raccoon.
Mendel's signature delicate dresses—here in hand-pleated mousseline, chiffon, and organza; sometimes asymmetrical; and tending in the direction of the long silhouette he introduced last season—didn't feel as fresh by comparison. Still, they had a balletic loveliness; Mendel has worked with the New York City Ballet, after all. The most interesting were raw-edged, a little dégradé: a ballerina unraveling. Wonder if someone's seen Black Swan.
