Gilles Mendel quietly returned to New York Fashion Week Thursday morning with a presentation at Lincoln Center’s Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse for the House of Gilles, the label he founded with his daughter Chloé Mendel Corgan.
Their corseted and embellished gowns and vibrant draped dresses were showcased on forms in an all-black dramatic setting that was fragrant from an abundance of flowers. Their Collection 02 is two-folded — couture, which takes three to six months, and made-to-order, which allows for customization, more affordable pricing and a quicker turnaround time of six to 12 weeks. The father-daughter team first worked together on Corgan’s Grecian-inspired wedding gown for her nuptials to Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan last fall.
While Mendel is based in New York, his daughter routinely flies in from her home in Chicago to meet with clients in Manhattan. The design duo work with their clients one-on-one in West 37th Street atelier, offering the full service designing and sketching for them. “We have a great dynamic together. We’re giving the clients the whole experience and it’s been very successful so far,” Mendel said. “I feel like I am starting all over again, which is fun. What better way [is there] to do it than with your daughter?”
Her detailed mindedness is also a plus, said Mendel, who said he is not that way. If clients prefer to work from their homes, the Mendels will do so. Not interested in creating a much larger operation, the pair are right now more focused on creating experiences, Mendel said. Understanding the importance of fit and elevating the client in fittings has made the House of Gilles popular with stylists and clients especially bridal ones, he said. Two friends, photographer friend Ruven Afanador, and 1990s model Christina Kruse, collaborated on the latest shoot for the House of Gilles. The sought-after corset-maker, who is known simply as “Mr. Pearl,” was another source of inspiration, Mendel said.
Mendel said that working with the New York City Ballet turned his design direction to more corseted styles. House of Gilles costumes will be worn by dancers in choreographer Caili Quan’s world premiere at the NYCB’s Fall Fashion Gala next month. “That forced me to challenge myself to bring more structure to the clothes, and to break away from the lightness. At the same time, the clothes are still flowy but I created more structured shapes with a bustier,” he said.
Noting how all of the dancers’ costumes have some form of corsetry, he said the idea is that even from far away you can see the ballerinas’ silhouettes flowing. But “sort of like a marionette, there’s something stiff within the movements. It’s really beautiful, because there’s movement and steadiness together,” Mendel said.