J. Mendel

J. Mendel has always been one of those labels that I knew about and kind of just felt neutral about. But when I saw this GORGEOUS peach, silk dress on Natalie Portman in January's Vogue (which should have been the Feb cover, Kristen Stewart), I fell in love. This dress is SO beautiful. And I love that it has obvious ballerina inspiration and that Natalite Portman is wearing it and that she was in Black Swan, which had ballerina costumes in it. It all tied together so perfectly! Black Swan definitely either created a ballerina trend or came out at a very serendipitous time in the fashion world.

I found that my girl T-Swifty rocked the cover dress and looked like a pixie fairy goddess at the People's choice awards.

It was then that I did my research on the designer and his past collections. It turns out that J. Mendel, founded in 1870 by Joseph Breitman, was actually a furrier to the Russian aristocracy, so fur is featured a lot in their collections (sorry PETA. We know you're upset. You protest their shows all the time). J. Mendel is also one of the few luxury brands to still remain in the family.

Gilles Mendel is the 5th generation CEO and head designer of the label, and he's doing a DAMN good job.

Here is the Vogue cover dress on the runway. J. Mendel's Spring 2011 runway show was obviously inspired by ballet and ballerina's. But Gilles managed to keep that inspiration there without making it TOO ballerina. He made it very wearable. The whole collection is so light and delicate. I felt like the models could have broken out into a synchronized ballet dance at any moment.

I loved the drape on this skirt.

The silk he used in this collection is absolutely gorgeous. So elegant.

I like how he tied ribbons around the waist to give the dresses more of a ballerina feel to them. It was the perfect accent.

Loved the blue chiffon this one.

So that was his Spring 2011 collection. Pretty beautiful, huh? I thought so. Then I saw his resort collection.

:O

Yeah. That's my jaw dropping. Sweet lord baby cupcakes. His resort collection is UNbelievable. It also has a pretty consistent ballet/ballerina theme throughout it (and shooting the collection in a dance studio emphasized that), but it's a little more subtle.

I loved that he used a dance studio because the mirrors allowed you to see the backs of the garments.

So beautiful. I love the shoes, also.

So this dress is pretty much BEYOND sexy. Oh my goodness. The color is stunning and the back cut out is perfect. I love this dress so much. THAT is how you do minimal.

Loved the chiffon cut out on this. Very subtly sexy.

The shoulders on this are so cool! Love it.

Oh crap...I forgot to tell you to check your vitals and make sure you were sitting before you saw this dress. Because if you're like me, you went into cardiac arrest when your lookin' balls gazed upon this bad boy. This dress is OUT of control. The metalic fabric seriously looks like silver is dripping down to the ground. It is so fluid and elegant and oh so sexy.

Loved the chiffon shoulder and peplums on this.

Beautiful beaded chiffon back on this top.

Simple. Stunning.

I'm not a huge fan of orange...but WOW. This is breathtaking. I love how the two pieces fall from the waist and then go behind the leg.

LOVE.

Love the fabric on this dress.

The color of this dress is phenomenal. And the draped layers totally remind me of art nouveau gowns. He put a great modern twist on it.

Ahhhh where do I even begin with this dress? There aren't even words. First, the color is amazing. I must have a thing for navy right now, because I'm kind of obsessed with it. Then the three panels on the dress and fan out at the bottom. SO cool. I love how the peplums and the ruffle on the chest all lead down to it. It is so pleasing to the eye and you just follow it all the way to the ground. Muah! Perfection!

Up top, Gilles. You are a total fashion gangster and I will definitely be keeping my eye on you from now on.