Day has dawned at J. Mendel. The house that eveningwear built is exploring daywear for Resort, inspired in part by creative director Gilles Mendel's recent trip to, of all places, Utah. The natural beauty of the scenery inspired Mendel to think geologically about his new creations, resulting in hand-pleated layers of fabric on fabric (silk mousseline, wool crepe, and Lurex), like stratified rock formations. The result is more dress in less space (though anyone worried that this might bring down prices can rest easy; with hand-frayed details on each piece—even down to jacket linings—day is sure to be almost as expensive as night).
Separates included long, color-blocked skirts with asymmetrical pleating, wide-leg silk crepe pants (a label first), and cashmere/silk knit sweaters (another debut) pieced with silk mousseline panels. Color-blocking continues to be a major trend of the collections, and Mendel's muted tone-on-tone dresses (in mini and maxi lengths) are fine additions to the ever growing canon. The overall shift to shorter, sportier shapes and subtler details produced one of the label's freshest offerings in seasons. And while change may be afoot, every day does eventually shade into night, and every J. Mendel collection into evening: For after dark, there was an almost outrageously detailed group of confections, many draped in asymmetrical layers of frayed organza and satin-faced Lurex.
