FRESH LOOK: J. Mendel tapped Jonathan Cohen as resident designer, giving him a chance to reawaken the legacy brand.
“Cohen will debut his first collection for the house with a runway show in New York this October,” the brand said in a short statement.
That timing — putting it after a month of global fashion shows — will give the newly refreshed J. Mendel a chance to show off its new direction when there’s less noise in the market.
The designer will lead J. Mendel creatively and continue to design his own brand.
J. Mendel hasn’t shown in recent seasons, but has a long history in ready-to-wear, including fur, as well as couture and bridal.
The brand’s roots go back to imperial Russia in the 1870s, although the house relocated to New York in the Eighties under Gilles Mendel, a fifth-generation member of the founding family. New York-based Stallion Inc. bought a stake in the business from Gores Group in 2015, but things didn’t quite click and the company filed for bankruptcy in 2018. Dennis Basso then took the business under his company’s umbrella.
