MENDEL’S NEW HOUSE OF FASHION

It was the wedding dress that clinched it. When world-famous fashion designer Gilles Mendel and his daughter Chloé got together to design the gown for Chloé’s wedding to rock star Billy Corgan, the experience was so enjoyable that they decided to keep the collaboration going. House of Gilles, their new atelier in New York City, is the brilliant result.

“It was so thrilling for us to collaborate and make my wedding gown that we were inspired to start House of Gilles,” says Chloé, known for her Maison Atia eco-friendly luxury outerwear and Madame ZuZu’s in Highland Park.

Gilles explains, “We decided to bring people’s dream gowns to life in a specialized, collaborative way. Visiting our atelier is a must for brides-to-be and their mothers. Many come to New York and visit the major brands that quote them a very high price for something not even one percent of the red-carpet experience they would receive at House of Gilles.”

That Gilles and Chloé, fifth and sixth-generation descendants of the J. Mendel fashion empire, would launch this venture now is a welcome surprise for those who feel the personal element has been lost in the industry.

“We’ve gone back to our roots,” Chloé observes, “Leaving the big studios and huge warehouses to focus on what we truly love: The art and relational aspects of creating for clients. Where else in this country can you meet face to face with a designer of Gilles’ pedigree to create the gown of your dreams?”

“This focus is what I love most about creating couture and dresses,” Gilles notes. “Not having to make four collections a year and rushing to a different country and market every other moment for shows.”

Because their relationship is very close and built on longstanding trust, the two are good sounding boards for one another as they discuss dress designs, what’s happening in the industry, and so much more. “Our skills complement each other very well,” Gilles describes. “Chloé is so talented with business and marketing and shaping the perfect experience for clients that I am free to focus on the art and design. I think that’s very rare today—to have the kind of extraordinarily good relationship where we complete each other in so many ways.”

Beyond this, “Our work is rooted in principles of great design and craftsmanship that may sound old fashioned, but we are also very tapped into what is new and happening in the industry, knowing the new developments and applying them,” says Chloé. “We create designs that feel very new but are also timeless.”

Together, the pair endeavor to provide completely specialized experiences for their clientele. “Experiences to mirror the path we followed to make my wedding dress.”

And, what a gown it was! “Chloé brought me pictures of the goddess Artemis as part of the inspiration for the feel of the dress,” recalls Gilles, “We included that with all of the other elements she wanted to distill into the dress—to tell her unique story.”

“We live in a wooded area of Highland Park on Lake Michigan,” explains Chloé, “And I kept thinking of how you can see the lake and the trees and the ravines through the morning mist. I wanted the dress to encompass all of this—to be romantic, dreamy, and a little sexy, without showing too much. Telling my love story through my dress was important to me.”

To get there, Gilles worked with the finest lace maker in France to create lace with a delicate metallic thread running through it to achieve a very light, misty look. He then crafted a bustier—the most important structural component of the dress—and hand-draped and micro-pleated 60 yards of the lace over it.

“In the end, even though there was so much fabric, it felt light as air, like there’s almost nothing there,” says Gilles. “That’s the magic of the work I do. Dresses that have great underlying structure, giving whoever wears them security and comfort, but that feel and look ethereal and light.”

House of Gilles’ gowns that are designed for couture clientele follow the same principles and progression, beginning with ideation meetings with Chloé and Gilles then moving to sketches, dress construction, and fittings. This process can take anywhere from three months to one year.

“But not everyone has a year to make a couture gown,” notes Chloé. With that in mind, House of Gilles’ first core collection of made-to-order gowns launches this month. “The collection will serve for beautiful, glamorous events—everything from the Golden Globes, the Emmys, or the Grammys, to galas, weddings, or other important events,” says Chloé. “The gowns can be ready in just weeks, and clients can specify a color choice, beading variations, and other details that will make each gown unique.”

The House of Gilles’ celebration of craftsmanship has the pair thinking back to their early experiences of growing up in the industry. For 150 years, from St. Petersburg to Paris to New York, the Mendel family has been known as purveyors of the world’s finest furs. Gilles was the first to step into high-end dress design.

As a furrier, Gilles’ father was a gifted artisan with long elegant hands, a diamond ring on his pinky, and piercing blue eyes. “Watching him work was so beautiful,” says Gilles. “There was so much pride and nobility in his work. I can still see him stretching the fur, using an old hammer and nails that had been passed down for generations. It was like he was creating architecture, like a plan of Versailles, the nails lined up like little soldiers all along the board. I honestly think of this all the time … the nobility and pride of creating beautiful work, because it’s such an emotional and pleasurable thought. I think it’s a big part of the reason I’m returning to couture atelier—I really enjoy and love it.”

Looking ahead? “We’re starting with couture, and eventually, we might move to other things. But right now, the focus is to do something unique and provide an extraordinary experience that people cannot find at any other house in America,” says Gilles.

“We are a brand of uncompromised quality and craftsmanship made in New York. Our growth will always stem from that,” Chloé concludes. “Where that brings us in the future we can’t foretell. But we will always have our hand in making the most beautiful pieces with a personal family touch.”

For more information, visit houseofgilles.com.