Monique Lhuillier Resort 2017
When trends like athleisure are letting people wear their pajamas out to brunch (and even to red-carpet events) and yoga pants just about everywhere else, what is a designer like Monique Lhuillier to do? You know, the designer known for red-carpet frocks and ethereal wedding gowns beloved by celebrities.
While you probably won’t ever see a jeans-and-T-shirt ensemble during a Lhuillier presentation or runway show, the designer is lightening up and giving her customers more than just the usual red-carpet fare. With a strong focus on separates and daywear, Lhuillier’s resort 2017 collection offered the designer a chance to play with different pieces that inject a bit of her glamorous DNA into clothes intended for a life away from the flashbulbs.
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Lhuillier was one of the first designers to introduce the idea of evening pants — no, not tuxedo pants or tailored slacks, her offerings included embroidery, lace and handwork that was taken right from her gowns and dresses. Her customers, new and old, have been snatching them up with gusto, so she offered more than ever before this season. Bold tangerine pairs and more sedate (but no less sparkly) black were shown with lace tops and bell-sleeved shells.
Monique Lhuillier Resort 2017
The pants are just one way the designer is shifting from special-occasion dressing and focusing on special pieces that can be worn many ways. Sure, those pants are perfect for a real event, but there’s no reason they can’t be worn with a T-shirt, too. Special pieces included bustiers with high-low hems and bejeweled cardigans that would make a pair of worn-in jeans ready for the street style photographers. Plenty of the dresses (long and short) would be appropriate for a more relaxed event, especially with the designer’s looser shapes and more comfortable cuts. The red carpet might call for boning, corsets and structure, but Lhuillier even loosened up her gowns, giving ingenues and A-list celebs plenty to choose from when awards season starts up.
For more information, visit www.moniquelhuillier.com.
Images courtesy Monique Lhuillier
