GILLES MENDEL
| 12-24-2009 | WWD – Retailers Look to Holiday’s Second Season | |
| 10-23-2009 | ETC – Boulevard Magazine 10-09 | |
| 10-16-2009 | WWD – Americana Manhasset Gets Involved | |
| 09/18/2008 | VERSACE AT HIRSHLEIFER’S | |
| 09/18/2008 | WWD – VERSACE FETES HIRSHLEIFER’S IN-STORE SHOP | |
| 04/18/2008 | CLICK-AND-MORTAR: MALL HITS WEB | |
| 01/30/2008 | WWD – INDUSTRY UPBEAT ON HALSTON PLAN | |
| 10/08/2007 | HIRSHLEIFER’S PREPS NEW SHOE STORE | |
| 12/22/2006 | HEARTS, HARLEYS AND BETTY | |
| 11/15/2006 | GILLES MENDEL | |
| 03/20/2006 | NY TIMES – OH, IT’S LUXURIOUS AT THE TOP | |
| 01/09/2006 | HIRSHLEIFER’S – STYLE LEADER | |
| 12/07/2005 | NY TIMES – I’ll Take Manhasset | |
| 09/27/2005 | WWD – HIGH FASHION FORMULA | |
| 09/08/2005 | NY TIMES – CRITICAL SHOPPER | |
| 11/08/2004 | OPULENT OUTPOSTS – CHANEL BOUTIQUE AT HIRSHLEIFER’S | |
| 10/27/2004 | WWD – RANKING THE INDEPENDENTS | |
| 02-21-2009 | IF EVENINGWEAR IS YOUR QUESTION… | |
| 12-20-2008 | CHANEL HAS EXPANDED | |
| VERSACE OPENS AT HIRSHLEIFER’S |
“AIGUA BLAVA IS WHERE I MEET REAL FREINDS AND REAL PEOPLE. THERE IS NO FASHION AND NO PRESSURE. I AM JUST A HAPPY CAMPER.”
Some designers tan on the beaches of St. Barths or shi the fashionable slopes of Saint Moritz. Not Gilles Mendel, the designer of J. Mendel. For his holiday getaway, he finds rest and relaxation on Spain’s Costa Brava in the small town of Aigua Blava. It’s a place he knows all too well. Since he was a toddler, his family has traveled to this tucked-away Catalan spot each year. In that time, he learned to speak Spanish and Catalan and befriended the locals. “Since there is only one hotel, the Hotel Aigua Blava, you have to have a home, so it’s secluded and private,” Mendel says. “The hotel is booked years in advance by the same people. As an outsider, it’s extremely difficult to get a room there, unless you are me. I am a little boy of the town.”
Each year, he takes his children, Chloe, 13, and Sacha, 11, to Spain. Their trip typically begins in Barcelona. Followed by a journey up the coast of Aigue Blava. In Barcelona he usually stays with friends and likes to take in the cities unique energy, from the hustle and bustle of the famed Las Ramblas area, where he enjoys tapas at Bar Pinotxo, to quieter spots in the marina. “We always stop at Suquet de l’Almirall, a tiny restaurant right on the harbor, which serves the traditional Catalan cuisine of fresh fish and other things from the harbor.” Mendel says.
Here, Mendel also connects with Oriol Salvador, a friend who owns the Orion yacht club. Together t hey test a new vessel each year and sail from Aigua Blava to Palamos and Majorca.
At sea or on land, Mendel likes to keep his wardrobe simple and casual and prefers not to have to think too much about fashion. “When I was a kid, I would were basic canvas Levi’s with a Lacoste shirt and JM Weston loafers, he says. “Today it hasn’t changed that much. It’s just that I may now wear Dior Homme canvas jeans; my loafers are Dior sneakers; my shirts are from Thom Browne.”
Aigua Blava’s familiarity and lack of change, as if time has stood still, gives the designer just the kind of comfort he needs to relax. For instance, the same fisherman has been sitting on top of the hill for decades, making sure that all the Catalan fishing boats are safe in the sea. “I love to see that.” Mendel says. “It5 means continuity. Aigua Blava is where I meet real friends and real people. There’s no fashion and no pressure. I am just a happy camper.”
