Gilles Mendel | The Magnificent Others with Billy Corgan
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What experiences shaped Gilles Mendel's early life in post-war France?
You don't have to be experienced in fashion to feel what's, you know, the electricity, the magic of the place when you come to us. Yeah. Because you see it. You know, beauty is beauty.
The fashion business is very punishing. It's relentless. Yes, definitely. No, it's really, really hard. So around 2012, I show up in your life.
Yes, I remember that. So let's talk about that.
what is my daughter doing i cannot believe it you know i started to look in the internet who you were and i became even worse geo mendel welcome to the magnificent others so full disclosure you are my father-in-law so we have to get that out of the way first uh how do you feel about that no just wait we'll get to that okay um Sarah Jessica Parker, Taylor Swift, J-Lo, Celine Dion, Michelle Obama, Melania Trump, Nancy Reagan, Liza Minnelli, Anna Kendrick, Heidi Klum, Claire Danes, Scarlett Johansson, Kerry Washington, Sandra Bullock. These are just some of the beautiful women that you've dressed through the years, being in the fashion business.
Yeah, it's been quite an incredible experience, I have to say, you know, I mean, just, I can't believe, in fact, I'm happy you did, you gave that list because I was afraid you were going to ask me, who did I dress? I would have never got to that point.
Did I leave anyone off the list?
Anna Kendricks, Nicole Kidman. Oh, okay. You know, but no, but more or less, I mean, yeah, there's so many through the years.
But I felt like we needed to start there because they were family, but also be people that wouldn't necessarily, if they know you're a fashion designer, they wouldn't necessarily know the arc of accomplishment. As you know, in American culture, you're judged by the level of celebrity that you reach. Yes.
Yeah, it's, I mean, as I said, it's quite an experience. I have to say, I just saw recently, you know, a documentary on Ferragamo, you know, the shoemaker. And he was talking, I mean, the experience was the same, you know, from the love of a product, the love of making something beautiful, from the understanding he came to America, you know, and he developed, he basically dressed all these big celebrities as well. And it was the same principles, you know, the principle of loving the making, the making the product, you know, the... the respect of the material. I mean, this whole love into the artisan-y, which is basically what I come from, you know, this mastery of artisan that's proud of their work.
I mean, this is like what fire was behind my experiences.
So my aspiration in interviewing you and the reason I asked you is because most people really don't understand the fashion business. I mean, they have a sort of celebrity... Yes. Yes. 5155? Yes. Lucky numbers, right?
Yes.
What are your memories of post-war France? Because Paris obviously famously was not bombed.
No. I mean, you know, I mean, I grew up, you know, in a, in a, in a, in a, I mean, I grew up in an area in Paris called Neuilly, you know, which is a little wood of Boulogne. In fact, I was born at the American hospital in Paris, which is the American hospital. Who do know that later on, here I am, you know, in America. I mean, you know, I grew up surrounded by, obviously, my parents that had, you know, such tremendous experience with the war and so on. So it was, they, during my whole youth, they tried not to impose in me, you know, what they went through. Even my religious, I have not been religiously educated in any way. You know, I was very free. Because they really suffered enormously. My mom went, you know, to a terrible concentration camp.
I just read recently that, you know, in Drancy, where she was staying, where she stood during the war, 70,000 people went in and only 2,000 went out.
How did Gilles Mendel build his fashion legacy dressing celebrities?
And she was one of them. So it's like incredible. And, you know, to date, unfortunately she passed away, but till the last moment, she really never really wanted to talk about it. I mean, it was such a trauma. I mean, you could imagine. I can't. I just can't imagine. I think that's what, it's almost unimaginable.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
What experiences shaped Gilles Mendel's early life in post-war France?
0:00–4:25
2
How did Gilles Mendel build his fashion legacy dressing celebrities?
4:25–12:45
3
What challenges does the fashion industry face in the age of fast fashion?
12:45–14:22
4
How did Gilles Mendel transition from fur to bespoke couture?
14:22–23:41
5
What unique experiences do clients seek at House of Gilles?
23:41–25:02
6
How does House of Gilles maintain craftsmanship in a modern context?
25:02–1:04:45
Speakers
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