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August 5, 2008 11:23 am
As a pleasant breeze wafted through the Upper East Side fur and ball-gown emporium J. Mendel on Monday evening, talk fell on a typically August subject: summer holidays. So and so was off to Ibiza, another already tanned, tight face was heading to Croatia, etc. In the middle of the vacation conversation was the brand’s designer, Gilles Mendel, who was hoping he’d be able to leave Manhattan for a mere weekend. “Don’t tell me, don’t tell me,” Mendel, who spent much of the night with his biggest—in height and wattage—customer Brooke Shields, said after he’d asked a friend about their summer plans. “I don’t want to know. I’m not getting away at all.” The designer is putting the finishing touches on his Spring 2009 collection and restructuring some of the New York production. “I always say I’ll take August in October, but it never happens.” Toward the end of the party, as guests like Ann Dexter-Jones tried on some of the Sevan jewelry on display (”I like this one with the black diamonds,” Jones sneaked. “Think they’d notice if I nicked it?”), the designer returned to the topic of his plight.
“Actually, you know what, maybe I should I find someone to help in the office,” Mendel said, adding that he’d love an additional set of eyes, perhaps the way Christopher Kane revitalized Versace. “So put the word out, and send ‘em my way.” Until then, though, he has to stay focused.
On her way out, Tinsley Mortimer, who was getting on a flight to the Mediterranean the next evening for two weeks of yachting, found a few pieces she thought would be ideal to add to her summer packing. “This stuff is perfect,” she said. “Keep up the good work!”
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