Monique Lhuillier Sprng 2016 NYFW

When Ms. Lhuillier hits her mark she hammers it home and this was a season that never strayed from what she does best, the collection is colorful, chic, urbane, ageless, feminine and oh yes, that pesky thing…. Wearable!

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These eyes are always delighted when clothes look weightless even though that defies any logic. The shapes, the edge, the color combinations, the embellishments (which were sparse) the finish is just sublime. It is a pleasure to see a designer who wants women to look beautiful and doesn’t subscribe to the shock and awe prescription when designing a collection. The clothes are made to be worn and to flatter the women wearing them.

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If there is a negative to be stated, it would be the Dior references which are a bit too literal but when a collection is as strong as this, that detail falls thru the cracks. From a personal standpoint, the hem length is not my favorite but again it becomes a minor detail that is quickly overlooked.

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Special moments included the green and watermelon color combo, the white laces, the black strapless with sarong skirt, the royal Lucy pant under skirt and a white heavily embellished short dress.

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Monique Lhuillier spring 2015 NYFW

Here’s the deal: this California designer earned her stripes as a wedding gown designer first and then branched out into full collection several years ago. She has made a name for herself doing exquisite evening and cocktail pieces that are generally beyond the pale. Then came Spring 2015!

The recipe here is a dash of Oscar, un poco de Delpozo, un peu de Raf,  a soupcon of Balenciaga,  not enough Monique and presto you have this season’s selections. It must be acknowledged that there were maybe 6-10 stunners that live up to the designer’s reputation and then there was the rest.

Suffice it to say that there was some exquisite embroidery work, some beautiful fabrics and some pretty colorations (watercolor stripings) but there surely wasn’t any sizzle here. ... candy wrapper metallics!! Really girl!! Spring is always a difficult season on so many levels but one really has to stand back and honestly assess a collection or else you end up with a very derivative collection that might tarnish your title as designer.

PS.. one might want to take a long look at Elie Saab as he is surely up to the task!

Pre-Fall 2014.. Reem Acra .. Monique LHuillier

The 2 designers started in the same place and that was at the altar. Bother were initially known for bridal gowns which eventually morphed to red carpet which eventually morphed into cocktail hour. This is where it all gets sort of blurred as both are superb dressmakers each knows their way around a yard of lace or chiffon but this is also where they hit that fork in the road.

From what can be seen of  Monique LHuillier’s collection, it is safe to say that if “comfort” is her M.O. then she might have overshot the mark here. Again, do not suppose or assume that the collection is unappealing as that is far from the truth but we need to take into account the poor styling and some poor silhouette choices here. While the satin flat is very tasteful, it surely misses the mark with lace gowns, dresses and puddling pants. On the flip side there are fabulously sexy asymmetrical mules and flats that are a 21^st century of what Armani did oh so many years ago.  Back to dresses, there is loose sexy and there is loose matronly and Ms. LHuillier hit both ends of the spectrum, but why was there such a shortage of her beautiful, georgettes, chiffons and jerseys?

Reem Acra has been honing her skills for the past few seasons and surely she has figured out how to design great gowns and cocktail dresses. My question is why on earth do you show a collection on a model who is about 2 steps away from rehab or who forgot to brush her hair that day. Then of course, there is that odd booty which made no sense with the clothes. She has steered the collection to sexy and it may have been even more so if there wasn’t such a huge amount of black lace involved. To her credit, she employed a fabulous color palette and for the most part there are some truly beautiful pieces and like Ms. LHuillier, she hit both ends of the spectrum when it came to chic and not so much.

Monique Lhuillier New York Collections.. fall 2013

How refreshing it is to see a collection where a designer concentrates on their strong suits while gently push the envelope to stretch their boundaries.  Ms. Lhuillier arrived sort of late to this fashion week business while building her presence as a force in the world of red carpet culture for clients who coveted her lush evening wear in Los Angeles.  When I think of her, it is twofold and that is her ethereal chiffons and her embellished pieces although there are those who would add her simple fitted elegant gowns in taffeta, satin or lace.

It is the wont of almost every designer to try and accomplish the growth of their collection by morphing from, in this case evening, into a more daytime segment aspect for the collection.  Yes, Ms. Lhuillier is slowly evolving the collection by adding more daytime pieces but please do not think I mane dresses to wear to the supermarket or just something to throw on to run errands.  And yes, some of it works and some of it doesn’t quite hit the same mark as her evening pieces but they are still head and shoulders above what is already out there from other designers.

What is most definitely worth noting in this collection is something II have been referring to during the past few days and that is a light touch; the almost ethereal quality of the gowns and even the almost weightless appearance of her embellished pieces as well as the brocades.  Take for instance the spidery embroidery cum lace, airy light feel of that “fireworks” embroidered back strapless tulle, the exquisite quality and overall look of the McQueen inspired red Raj gown and even the malachite printed pieces which might certainly have wound up as loser in the groups.  I believe it is an art and an innate talent that allows a designer such as Ms. Lhuillier to achieve such incredible results.

The shapes are varied as well as being reasonably forgiving which in this retail environment is essential. It does occur to me that with her own retail stores and via her bridal gown business that she is acutely aware of women who spend large sums of money to wear beautiful clothes.  Without knowing, I can safely say that that she spends time on the sales and meeting with her ladies.  All of this serves Ms. Lhuillier to great advantage and it is a pleasure to see a collection that speaks to its DNA and to the designer’s ability to slowly expand her world.

http://moniquelhuillier.com/