It comes as a bit of a surprise that after 36 years at the helm of J. Mendel, Gilles Mendel hasn’t name-checked Talitha Getty. Chances are the actress made it onto a mood board or two, but Pre-Fall 2018 was a dedicated study of her haute hippie caftans, billowing gowns, and gold jewelry. The A-line miniskirts, silk blouses, and stripy furs were evocative of the late ’60s, and Mendel’s signature micro-pleated gowns are a consistent nod to those times. The most memorable ones came in unusual color combinations—plum and rust, burgundy and mint—and looked comfy enough to lounge in.
Those colors were loosely informed by Mark Rothko, who gained fame around the same time as Getty (and also suffered an untimely death, though he was 66, not 30). Mendel was interested in his signature color-field paintings, particularly the ones that mixed unlikely hues. The palette turned out especially rich on a handful of burnout velvet pieces: an olive green bishop-sleeved gown was laid-back enough for day, ditto the burgundy tunic and trousers, while a teal jumpsuit had red carpet potential. Cinched with a slim velvet belt, it had the same groovy, unpretentious air that made Getty an icon.
