This season, the expert furrier’s outerwear pieces, fashioned in shadow fox mounted on tulle or Tibetan lamb, looked light as feathers.
The show opened with flirty ballerina-inspired dresses (some of which had asymmetrical drape), making it clear the designer behind the costumes of the New York City Ballet’s spring rendition of Call Me Ben still had dancers on his mind.
The hues were a beautiful, trendy range of neutrals – yellow, white, blush, taupe, blue, grey, beige, bronze – and a more saturated orange for mid-show pop.
My favorite looks were the ones topped with long, belted vests and boleros made of fox fur. There was also a beautiful lamb fur short-sleeved jacket.
J. Mendel has previously shown his collections in presentation-style settings, but given his fluid, light, and wispy Spring/Summer 2011 collection, a runway was the perfect vehicle for showing off the beautiful movement of his silk chiffon cocktail dresses and pleated gowns.
The delicate bead work on his jersey dresses and the cascading pleats on his chiffon gowns were simply stunning. And, it wouldn’t be a J. Mendel collection without a handful of looks suitable for the red carpet.
My bet is on any one of the asymmetrically draped cocktail dresses with pleated and sheer details – the epitome of understated glam, while being perfectly on trend with what we’ve seen on the runways this season.
