Danielle Frankel (Q2872)
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Danielle Frankel is a fashion house from FMD.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Danielle Frankel |
Danielle Frankel is a fashion house from FMD. |
Statements
Danielle Frankel describes her namesake brand as “a fashion label” whose “medium is bridal,” a minor yet important distinction that indeed manages to capture her creative output. To wit, consider that this season began with the exploration of an über down-to-earth fabric: jersey. “There are a few things that I've been wanting to do for forever, one of which is work with Jersey,” she explained in her Midtown showroom. “Jersey is a fabric that, I as a person, just live in. I try to live in comfort—but this has nothing to do with comfort—I just thought [jersey] would visually be very, very new and would perform well.”And so her super-soft silk jersey, with a hand more akin to suede, was used in a spring-y strapless babydoll-shape top decorated with a small bouquet of metal-cast real flowers, and worn with an ankle-grazing draped skirt that was surely poised to make a beach bride very happy; while a draped goddess gown has subtle lace appliqués and has the sinuous lines of ancient carved marble sculptures. But it was in Frankel’s application of the fabric on a ballgown with an ultra-dropped-waist, deep-V-shaped gathered skirt whose bodice was layered with a sheer layer of sand-colored lace appliqued with contrasting ivory flowers that the “fashion-first” distinction fully hit—it is not a pristine-white dress, but instead hints a deeper melancholy in its unexpected beauty. Surely an emotional rarity in the bridal world—but not Danielle Frankel’s.Even her more “classic bride” propositions are pushed to new heights: delicate Lyon floral lace is layered over honeycomb lace on a simple slip; while on another, corded lace was carefully cut into bias-cut strips then pieced back together into a clean, spaghetti-strap ballgown silhouette. “The other thing from this season is I didn’t want to do any pleating,” Frankel added. “We do a lot of pleating and I wanted to do a new version, so we developed this technique using bias-cut strips that almost read as pleats, but they’re not.”Elsewhere, a series of hand-painted gowns in a silk fabric woven with metal fibers evoked both Impressionist paintings—on a ballgown with a delicately gathered bodice and a skirt painted with abstract dusty pink flowers against a sea of moody blues and greens that gave the illusion that the dress was constructed from paper maché—and romantic whimsy—like on an easy sheer slip dress painted with falling flowers, and worn over white silk trousers.
The thick edges of paint on the lace indeed appeared to be real flower petals flowing all around the model. These two—along with another strapless sheer layered number with a smattering of flowers at its bubble hem—are made for “I Do’s” but god, how great would it be to see them walk the steps of the Metropolitan Museum at this year’s Met Gala. (The dress code, if you recall, is “The Garden of Time.”) “I think that we’re challenging ourselves in different ways,” Frankel adds. “I want to give [our customer] what she doesn’t know she wants.”
2 April 2024
The opening look of Danielle Frankel’s fall collection is a sleeveless dress featuring a silk wool twill bodice with an architectural mock neck, and corset-like details that wrap around the waist to meet a hand-cut lace-decorated linen organza skirt with an exaggerated tulip shape that falls to the ankle. It is light as air, and accessorized with an oversized straw hat decorated with hundreds of tiny flowers. The look is simultaneously evocative of another time while being grounded in thenow.“I like to look back a lot more than what’s going on currently,” the designer said during a recent appointment at her lovely studio in Midtown. The loveliness is purposeful—many a starry-eyed bride makes their way here to find the wedding dress of her dreams—but much like her dresses, the space isn’t saccharine. She continued, “I was looking at a lot of the New Look; Dior, Balenciaga, and that era where you had these really dramatic silhouettes—but we’re making a contemporary version of that.”It may be incongruous to describe clothes made to fulfill life-long fantasies as “contemporary”—after all, what is “contemporary” if not a stand-in for “real life” and what is real life if not the opposite of fantasy? But it is precisely this quality that has made Danielle Frankel Hirsch so successful. Many of the looks consisted of mini-dresses worn over ankle-grazing skirts—perhaps to ensure these pieces get to be worn long after their walk down the aisle.A shiny silk wool spaghetti-strap mini dress with Chantilly lace appliqué at the hem and a matching maxi skirt worn with a silk cashmere mock neck sweater, its sleeves scrunched up to make way for dramatic opera-length gloves, recalled that favorite ’90s combo of a baby tee worn underneath a vintage satin slip dress, only more elegant. There was also a bit of the ’90s in a spaghetti strap column dress covered in Chantilly lace and ivory organza strips whose hand-frayed edges gave the impression of a very delicate fur. These looks are bridal because they are white, and delicate, and formal; but they could just as well be part of an everyday-wardrobe if they were made in other colors or fabrics. A boxy matte silk wool men’s tuxedo (“because why not?”) was another modern addition.Elsewhere, pieces made from genuine baroque pearls embroidered unto transparent sequins were simultaneously opulent and minimalist. “I’m usually very anti-sequin, but,” the designer said, letting the fabric finish her sentence.
5 April 2023
It’s been a year since Danielle Frankel Hirsch, a go-to designer for fashion-forward brides, unveiled a new collection. Not a long time in terms of creative productivity, but a considerable hiatus by the standards of the fashion calendar. “When you’re talking about an evergreen product, you don’t need a collection every six months,” Frankel says. “These collections take so much to produce, and because the business is growing at the same time, we have to wedge in when we’re doing the development.”There’s certainly no shortage of clientele. Though Hirsch designs ready-to-wear as well as bridal, the latter is her bread-and-butter and 2022 is set to have over 2.6 millionweddings.Hirsch wanted to open up her line—which can feel like a not-so-well-kept secret among front row regulars—to more of that market. She developed many of her brand signatures this season, including corsetry, bubble hems, and silk-wool pleated gowns. But everything is a bit bigger than fall 2021’s streamlined and sculptural offerings. “There’s a lot of the same DNA that you see in our work, but I wanted something a little bit more grand this season,” Hirsch says. “Before we were known for those effortless, simple, cool styles, but for me it’s important to go bigger and move it forward.”Inspired by 1950sVoguefashion illustrations, mid-century elegance, and surrealism, her new collection is photographed in a deliberately hazy way. Though this method of photography obscures the fine details of the clothing, it underscores the feelings Hirsch hopes to evoke. That said, her designs tend to reveal themselves on the human form. The Leith gown, for instance, has a showstopping corseted bust that projects off the body and open back, but the pleats at the waist may just be the special detail that convinces the customer that this is the one. Hirsch also introduced several styles with Watteau drapes at the back, offering a more low-key kind of drama than the Leith does, while still delivering mid-century glamour.Don’t worry cool kids: you’re not forgotten. Aside from the fact that the most classic ballgown silhouette is hand-painted and hand-fringed in shades of brown, many of the tops Hirsch designed feel like true ready-to-wear. Paired with wide-leg trousers, the two bandeaus made to look like flowers are festive and relaxed. Another bustier, however, comes complete with its own train. How daring.
10 March 2022
Danielle Hirsch of Danielle Frankel first made her mark as a bridal designer. Hirsch, who cut her teeth at bridal powerhouses including Vera Wang, sought to redefine the concept of bridal. She created pieces that she defined as modern women shopping for themselves rather than their mothers. The response was rapid and positive: Many women gravitated toward the remixed bridal looks, choosing slinky slip dresses and silk separates. Hirsch noticed that women were rewearing their pared-back yet elegant wedding looks beyond the altar.Hirsch’s transition to ready-to-wear is a natural one, although there are tinges of bridal in her fall 2021 collection. The body-skimming white dresses with Hirsch’s signature flourishes certainly look like they’re made for getting married in. Also in that vein is a standout column dress with sheer sleeves and exaggerated shoulders created with layered lace flowers.While the collection feels bridal heavy, the few true ready-to-wear pieces are strong and have a fairy-tale effect. One of the best examples is a royal blue dress with a pleated waist that gives the body a severe and beautiful whittled effect. The neckline opens up to reveal a slight décolletage, and further flows into sculpted, voluminous shoulders. Hirsch will always have her bridal clients, but she should earnestly strive to build her reach beyond them. This is a good start.
8 March 2021
Begone, stuffy bridal presentations! See you later, flutes of champagne! Neither were present at Danielle Frankel’s very entertaining first runway show. Designer Danielle Hirsch enlisted hip-hop and classical pianist Chloe Flower, who has performed with the likes of Cardi B, to play the soundtrack. The funky, energetic spectacle (Flower’s facial expressions are gold) was a reflection of the Danielle Frankel design philosophy. Hirsch has been shaking up the traditions of bridal since she launched her label back in 2017. Since then, her finite attention to the modern bride’s wants, such as separates for different occasions, and her focus on masculine tailoring has gotten her noticed. This past June, Zoë Kravitz (whom Hirsch once toldVoguewas her dream client) wore a midriff-exposing, hand-crocheted, and pearl-embroidered cocktail dress by Hirsch to her rehearsal dinner in Paris. Hirsch is also the first bridal designer to ever participate in the CFDA/VogueFashion Fund this year.Part of the Danielle Frankel charm is that Hirsch infuses a certain toughness into the more angelic, pure codes of bridal. Lace-trimmed kerchiefs from a prior season were used for a voluminous layered skirt, which artfully hung low for some attitude. One of the funkiest pieces was the pair of lace-up, high-waisted boxing shorts styled over a fisherman turtleneck. (On top was a Madonna-inspired metallic cone bra.) The put-a-ring-on-it pugilist look was legitimately cool, a word rarely used in the bridal world, and it would be killer for a shower, a rehearsal dinner, or a morning-after brunch for the outré bride. Plus, she could rewear that nubby knit again and again.Speaking of wearing pieces long after the wedding, much of Hirsch’s success is in the ready-to-wear sensibility of her clothes. The opening look was a bold-shouldered lace trench coat with a huge grommet belt. Why not wear a trench down the aisle? Brides get cold, too, especially at Fall weddings. This offered a comfortable, chic, and versatile solution.
5 October 2019
Even if you don’t think bridal is your “thing,” Danielle Frankel makes it seem compelling, even easy. She’s tapping into the way modern women are choosing to dress for their weddings with her flexible, multifaceted pieces, most of which can be reworn beyond the aisle. Last year, Net-a-Porter took notice of Frankel shortly after her debut and launched her second collection on its site, marking the retailer’s official foray into the bridal market.Yesterday at her new showroom/studio in New York’s Garment District, Frankel continued carving out her niche for transitional, no-fuss dresses and separates. Her Spring 2020 offering ranged from minimalist gowns, like a slinky long-sleeved satin number with a dipped back, to classic styles with a bite, like a pleated dress with a portrait neckline and rounded sleeves. There was also a surprisingly hot moment mixed in: Not pictured in the lookbook, a mini pearl-crocheted dress was one of the more intricate pieces Frankel has done.What’s exciting about Frankel’s vision for bridal is that for all of those sensual cuts and precious materials, there’s always a touch of masculinity. New this season was a jacket inspired by a vintage piece she found in an Army Navy surplus store; it came in ivory duchesse-satin with natural pearls for buttons. Bride or not, plenty of women will want to wear it. Frankel also introduced her first knits: baby-soft ribbed cashmere sweaters in cream and camel with sculpted, wavy sleeves. They’re going to be produced as ready-to-wear, not made-to-measure bridal (along with a few other pieces, like the jacket), so you’ll be able to buy them whether you’re getting married or not.
12 April 2019
Last season, Danielle Frankel captured the bridal world’s attention with her debut collection of tailored, frills-in-the-right places wedding looks. Her label has quickly become a resource for the bride who wants a sleek, elongated blazer for the rehearsal dinner; an actual gown to wear down the aisle; and a kicky lace jumpsuit for the reception. Buyers have caught on to the line’s vast, choice-minded range and its e-commerce-friendly, one-stop-shop mentality. Frankel’s second outing for Spring 2019 (along with select pieces from her debut collection) will be available in a see-now-buy-now model exclusively at Net-a-Porter beginning April 23. It marks the first time the influential retailer has done a major launch with a bridal designer.As for the sophomore collection, brides can expect more of Frankel’s signature tailoring, though she noted it’s “more relaxed” this time around. Creamy satin blazers were softened with slight trains of lace or were fastened at the waist with silk sarongs. For a remixed take on old-school charm, baroque pearls dotted the backs of dresses and cuffs. Most of the looks could just as easily be worn post-wedding, too. That’s another way Frankel is revolutionizing bridal: In fact, at Monday’s presentation at the Nomad hotel, Frankel and her PR team were wearing the collection’s lacy tunics and blazers over jeans. One gown in a classic teacup silhouette came with a white belt strung with jumbo pearls. It was another example of Frankel’s fresh approach: The belt—which can also be purchased separately—will make for the perfect après-nuptials memento.
17 April 2018