Mandali Mendrilla (born 1 February 1976) is an American

fashion designer Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...

, who mainly works in Europe, the US, and India. She is also known for having translated the

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

epics from

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

into Croatian.

Early life and education

Mandali Mendrilla, born Maja Mendrila, grew up on the Croatian coast. After high school Mendrilla was tutored in fine arts by Croatian sculptor Tatjana Kostanjevic and started her fashion career in 1995.

Career

In 1995, Mendrilla's collection was selected as the theme collection of the Croatian Fashion Week and was awarded the Design Excellence Grand Prix. She also made the first ever translation of the

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

, in Croatian, and several other books, like the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

. From 1995 to 2006, Mendrilla designed several haute couture Croatian Fashion Week award winning collections. In 1996, Mandali Mendrilla decided to complete her studies at the Rijeka Faculty of Philosophy, where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Croatian language and literature. In that period, she studied

Bhakti Yoga Bhakti yoga ( sa, भक्ति योग), also called Bhakti marga (, literally the path of ''Bhakti''), is a spiritual path or spiritual practice within Hinduism focused on loving devotion towards any personal deity.Karen Pechelis (2014), ...

and traditional arts of India under tutelage of Kenneth R. Valpey. The studies inspired several art projects, like collaboration with British anthropologist Chantal Boulanger on '' Vrndavana: The

Sari A sari (sometimes also saree or shari)The name of the garment in various regional languages include: * as, শাৰী, xārī, translit-std=ISO * bn, শাড়ি, śāṛi, translit-std=ISO * gu, સાડી, sāḍī, translit-std= ...

Experiment''. Mendrilla also finds inspiration in ancient cultures, especially from

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. In the United States, Mendrilla's late husband and artist Elisha 'Nitai' Drury's ''Krishna Kitchen'', ended up becoming an integral part of some of the biggest and most exciting alternative festivals of the new millennium; including

Burning Man Burning Man is an event focused on community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance held annually in the western United States. The name of the event comes from its culminating ceremony: the symbolic burning of a large wooden effigy, referred ...

Wanderlust Wanderlust is a strong desire to wander or travel and explore the world. Etymology The first documented use of the term in English occurred in 1902 as a reflection of what was then seen as a characteristically German predilection for wandering ...

and Bhaktifest. Mendrilla dedicated an entire collection to commemorate his legacy. In 2014 she was featured on the Croatian Fashion Week in Zagreb. She closed the year with an appearance in the Yoga journal. In 2015 Mandali's luxury label was featured by the British VOGUE magazine, Harper's Bazaar and Tatler. Mandali's collection Wish Tree Dress, inspired by the eastern tradition of Wish Trees, was presented at the Croatian Fashion Week in June 2015. After the fashion week appearance Mandali was invited to design a special Wish Tree Dress for the collection of the Belgian MOSA Museum. Mandali crafted an interactive art installation called Mandala of Desires (Blue Lotus Wish Tree) made of peace silk and painted with eco friendly textile ink resembling a lotus flower with branches of a tree upon which visitors could hang their desires. The dress was taken to India and offered to a genuine wish tree in 2016. The pattern of the dress was based on the Goloka Yantra

mandala A mandala ( sa, मण्डल, maṇḍala, circle, ) is a geometric configuration of symbols. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for e ...

and the thousand petalled lotus petticoat on the layered glass sculptures of Dutch artist Bert Van Loo. The dress was exhibited as part of the "Forms of Devotion" exhibition at the

China Art Museum The China Art Museum, also called the China Art Palace (; Shanghainese: ''Zongwu Nyizeh Ghon'') or its original name, Shanghai Art Museum, is a museum of modern Chinese art located in Pudong, Shanghai. The museum is housed in the former China Pav ...

in Shanghai as well as the Museo de arte Contemporaneo at Conde Duque in Madrid, Spain.

References

Gallery

File:Mandala of Desires Mandali Mendrilla China Art Museum.jpg, Mandali Mendrilla's interactive sculpture dress "Mandala of Desires" at the

in Shanghai, November 2015.

External links

*
Mandali Mendrilla on Tumblr

Mandali Mendrilla on Instagram

Short film of Mandali Mendrilla at the Croatian Fashion Week in Zagreb, May 2014
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mendrilla, Mandali American fashion designers American women fashion designers Croatian fashion designers Croatian women fashion designers English–Croatian translators 21st-century translators Businesspeople from Rijeka 1976 births Living people 21st-century American women writers