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Monique Lhuillier
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EACH successive collection since 2001, Monique Lhuillier (inset), the young bridal–eveningwear designer from California,
has grown into her talent with leaps and bounds. From her first
showing at Bryant Park, I was quite taken with her designs and how
she has so quickly mastered the basic tenets of her craft. While
studying at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, Ms
Lhuillier knew she wanted to design wedding gowns and was quite
specific about her future plans.
While she wasn’t sure that there was a place in
the industry for her, she knew that she didn’t want to be in the
mass production sector of the business. ‘I wanted to be in the high-end,’
she recalled. It was only while she was planning her own wedding
that she conducted further research and realized, ‘There was a huge
bridal industry and that I could be a part of it.’
With her success in the bridal field somewhat
assured, she expanded into eveningwear in late 2000 with a spring
2001 collection was an immediate hit. Her sleek and sexy gowns,
often constructed from lots of lace, beading, and beautiful silk
fabrics and lined with silk, retail from $1,500 to $4,000, and are
rich in colour, style and youthful sophistication.
Ms Lhuillier’s “daytime pieces”, for
what it’s worth, could easily do double-duty as equally wonderful
evening fare. The stand-out pieces here were her beautifully tailored
tweed jackets, which were often paired with dressy tulle, Chantilly
lace and organza skirts. The best of the best here was her tweed
jacket with ribbon trim (paired with a black laser-cut tulle A-line
skirt), her confetti tweed cropped jacket with sequinned trim and
its corresponding miniskirt, and her confetti tweed mandarin collar
safari jacket paired with a tulle miniskirt. She didn’t show a great
many coats but what she did show proved that she was not at all
a novice in the field. The best example of her expertise in this
area was her sprinkle tweed overcoat with its mini-notched collar
and an apricot tweed peacoat that’s versatile enough to also be
worn with a pair of jeans.
She also used a floral “signature” print
that was quite beautiful. She used it in various pieces, including
a one-piece bathing suit with geometric side cut-outs, a metallic
taffeta V-neck full-skirt cocktail dress, a trench coat design,
a floral ruched beaded ball gown, and the pièce de résistance,
a floral metallic taffeta off-the-shoulder ball gown with twisted
shoulder detailing.
As for the rest of the collection, she won me
over with her ability to make sexy, gorgeous gowns that are timeless
and stunning. Outstanding designs for evening included her celadon
pleated silk taffeta and ice blue silk taffeta bateau ball gowns,
as well as other creations, such as her pink tropical floral silk
charmeuse halter gown with cross-cross graphic insets and the blue
ombre chiffon bias strapless gown with scarf tie detailing.
Ms Lhuillier has a light touch about her and a
sense of knowing what will work in a design. She simply allows her
innate talents to guide her hand, and, each season, her customers
reap the benefit.
CONTINUED
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Monique Lhuillier has a light
touch about her and a sense of knowing what will work in a design.
She simply allows her innate talents to guide her hand
          
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