Danielle Frankel just opened her first flagship store in Los Angeles, so it makes perfect sense that her latest collection is dominated by bold, architectural shapes. A micro-pleated dress swishes and swirls around the body, as if capturing the motion of flowing water. Except this isn’t a styling trick; the micro-pleats in the dress are actually hundreds of micro-bones holding the shape. “When you walk, it walks with you,” Frankel explained. A slim silk column gown with hand-painted tonal florals, has a dramatic swooping collar that folds over the shoulders and exposes the back, and a kicky little mini dress features a sleek, tight corset with a dropped waist that blooms into the puffiest, shortest bubble skirt in the same micro-bones fabrication.
Throughout it all, a lightness remains. See the hand-painted silk chiffon made in collaboration with a French artist who moved in to Frankel’s atelier for a few weeks and created a bold, impressionistic floral gown in dark green, and the whisper-like floral ombrés, or the hand-painted organza cocoon worn by Kristen McMenamy that is the collection’s undisputed highlight. There are also a few show-stopping dresses for those not getting married but looking for a gown that will immediately crown them “best dressed” at any formal function. These include an easy slip dress in “lightning organza” that has the appearance of sunlight reflecting off a clear sea, and an off-the-shoulder long sleeve dress in a pearl-embellished mesh. Both have a youthful, fun-loving appeal.
Frankel makes all of her dresses in Manhattan’s Garment District, and she has a talented group of designers in her atelier that can rival any couture house. This is exemplified by a couple of gowns made from individually hand-cut silk “petals” whose raw edges made them feel like they were something found in nature. The finale gown, also modeled by McMenamy, is made of 100,000 petals which took the atelier four months to sew by hand.
In eight years, Frankel has built a hugely successful business and that success has given her the freedom to explore and experiment in a thrilling way. That she does this work as a “bridal” designer, should not be a reason for people to not pay attention.