About Christophe de Menil

Designer Christophe de Menil was born in France, and raised in Houston amidst the legendary collection of her parents, John and Dominique de Menil.
At a young age Miss de Menil became well known for wearing the work of renowned designers, including fashion icon Madame Gres. Since her teens, Miss de Menil has also been a steady friend and patron of contemporary artists, architects and designers, including Matisse, Le Corbusier, Barnett Newman, de Kooning, Rauschenberg, Mark Rothko, Mark di Suvero, Philip Johnson, Louis Kahn, Luis Barragán, Tadao Ando, among many, many others.
Inspired by these outstanding people, Miss de Menil established herself as a notable costume designer, producing work for Trisha Brown, Lucinda Childs, and Robert Wilson. While collaborating with Wilson she also created jewelry with the extraordinary Claude Lalanne.
Miss de Menil’s designs are a distillation of these remarkable collaborations and friendships, and her jewelry and clothing design hold the echoes of an immersion in the great theater costume departments of Europe: Munich’s Kammerspiele, Rotterdam’s National Theater, the Chatelet in Paris, Amsterdam’s Opera House, Rome’s Teatro dell’ Opera, Sicily’s Summer Festival in Gibellina.

About The Collection

Miss de Menil is intrigued by the tight simplicity of nature, in particular the marine life she encounters on the beach at her Long Island home. Her jewelry magnificently captures specimens whose forms emerge from growth and motion, such as horseshoe crabs, stingrays, cacti, and roses. These stunning and inventive pieces are made in silver and gold plate; solid gold on request.
Christophe de Menil’s couture line gained notoriety with Avedon’s 1984 photograph of Iman in a two-piece mango-yellow charmeuse ensemble. Around this time Christophe invented a uniform for herself, a stylish and timeless jumpsuit that flatters by day or evening and seasonless; thereby simplifies the wardrobe selection process.
Miss de Menil’s apparel includes this archetypal Jumpsuit with sleeve variations and a black barathea rayon crepe version with straps or sleeves. She favors a dress of Italian lightweight wool crepe, “Dress ONE;” a mohair jacket of similar pattern, and a lightweight mohair cape.
Geoffrey Beene spoke of the Jumpsuit as “the ball gown of tomorrow.”
Women who have worn her designs include Claude Lalanne, Marie Hélène de Rothschild, Bettina Graziani, Mrs. Robert Owen, Minnie Cushing, Marietta Tree, and Jessye Norman.
Christophe de Menil also has a line of T’s with unexpected nature images evoking a sense of casual grace and humor. Christophe de Menil’s apparel, jewelry and T’s are produced in the United States.