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.

Courtesy of the artist.