11 posts tagged "Monique Lhuillier"
Pamela Loves Parties
Pamela Love’s approach to Fall ’13 was, as she succinctly put it, “No show, just a party.” Last night, the jewelry designer was at Milk Studios, her usual fashion-week venue—but she wasn’t posted in one of the white-walled studios. This time around, she was in the underground concert space, hosting a closing night of sorts for MADE fashion week. (This side of the Atlantic, at least: The emerging-designer-friendly platform will have its inaugural season in Paris later this month, at the Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild.)
Not that Love has been a slouch this show season: She did the accessories for Mara Hoffman, Creatures of the Wind, and Monique Lhuillier. Her Valentine’s Day basement party provided a warm-up of sorts for the back-in-action blues band VietNam, which has a new album out and is about to start touring. Fun fact: The band’s label, Mexican Summer, is run by Andres Santo Domingo and Keith Abrahamsson—gents who are both married to high-powered fashion pros.
“I definitely felt a little bit of emptiness in my heart this season, because I love doing presentations,” said Love, whose jewelry showcases tend to be the opposite of generic. “But I wanted to keep it more private this time around. And presentations are a lot of work.”
Monique Lhuillier Loves Jewelry
This season, Monique Lhuillier has embarked on her very first jewelry collaboration. The lucky cohort? Pamela Love. “I was so inspired by malachite early in the design process for Fall ’13 and thought it would be amazing to have some beautiful jewelry on the runway. Pamela’s designs perfectly matched what I had in mind, so I called her up,” Lhuillier told Style.com. The jewelry range will bring a tough edge to Lhuillier’s feminine designs, and features statement gold collars, cuffs, and rings set with amethyst and malachite. “We worked with strong geometric shapes, which create a beautiful juxtaposition against the organic feeling of the stones,” offered Love. As for the clothes, which will be revealed at Lhuillier’s runway show on February 9, the designer hints that they have a dark, sexy Art Deco feel. “There are rich jewel tones, bold prints, and slim, elongated silhouettes,” says Lhuillier, adding, “The shoes add attitude in emerald green crushed velvet and black suede. They are knockout gorgeous!”
The Secret To Winning a Golden Statuette? Dress Like One
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association determines who walks away with a statuette at the Golden Globes on Sunday night. But wearing a gold gown will ensure that even those who don’t get their moment in the spotlight still look like winners. There was plenty of bullion on the Spring runways (Donna Karan, Vera Wang) and at the recent pre-fall collections (Jason Wu, Monique Lhuillier). We think a shimmery champagne color would be particularly stunning on the redheaded nominees Jessica Chastain, Nicole Kidman, and Amy Adams.
CLICK FOR A SLIDESHOW of gold gowns for the Golden Globes.
Frill-Seeker’s Paradise
Monique Lhuillier’s opulent gowns are enough to make a girl feel like a fairy princess. And now, after 16 years in business, fairyland has an East Coast address. Last month, Lhuillier finally opened her dream New York flagship on the Upper East Side, a milestone she officially celebrated yesterday evening with an appropriately luxe soirée. She and husband Tom Bugbee (the company’s CEO) discovered the 1890s townhouse two years ago and have been renovating it ever since. “We combined what was an existing retail store on the street level with a gallery that was available upstairs, then bought a one-bedroom apartment in the back, and somehow put it all together,” Lhuillier said of the 3,000-square-foot space. “All of the nooks and crannies make the experience private, like you’re discovering something, which is different from my very open store in Los Angeles.” (Not to mention from her unexpected third store in Edina, Minnesota.) Appointed with gray suede walls, jewel-box vitrines, and Lhuillier’s own Waterford crystal chandeliers (comparable models from the Monique Lhuillier Waterford lighting collection for sale, for the curious), the New York location greets guests with accessories and ready-to-wear on the ground floor, while the bridal collection, which makes up about 60 percent of the label’s sales, is stationed upstairs.
“Upon opening the store, we instantly saw just how ready people here were for us, and that’s a great feeling,” explained the designer. Despite setting up shop in the Big Apple, Lhuillier will keep most of her operations based on the West Coast, where the Hollywood set can’t seem to get enough of her red-carpet-ready frocks—or frock. Recently, Nicki Minaj attracted tabloid attention when she arrived at the American Music Awards in a chartreuse gown that Julie Bowen had already worn to collect her Emmy. “I had no idea Nicki Minaj was going to turn up in that Resort look, and I loved how over-the-top she made it—completely different from when Julie Bowen wore the same one at the Emmys.” One had to wonder if somewhere, a publicist’s head had rolled for the double loan. “Nicki and her stylist actually went into the store and bought it,” Lhuillier said. “So, no, everything you see on those girls isn’t always borrowed.”
Monique Lhuillier is now open at 19 E. 71st St., NYC, (212) 683-3332, moniquelhuillier.com
Surfer, Skater, Chola, Star
For many in fashion, L.A. is a full coast away from where the real action is. “Style in L.A. is sort of an oxymoron,” admits former L.A. Times writer and journalist Melissa Magsaysay. “It’s jeans and it’s T-shirts. But what’s wrong with that?” In hopes of changing the conversation surrounding style in the City of Angels, Magsaysay penned City of Style: Exploring Los Angeles Fashion, from Bohemian to Rock.
While following the contemporary market in L.A., the author realized that mass market brands were referencing L.A.’s ease and attitude as inspiration—without necessarily wanting to admit it. “No one will acknowledge it because it’s not Dior and Vuitton. But to me, it doesn’t have to be those labels and brands to be stylish, per se.” City of Style combines street-style photography with interviews with some of the city’s reigning tastemakers, ranging from Monique Lhuillier and Trina Turk to Phillip Lim and even Slash. Magsaysay makes the case for L.A.’s own native style archetypes, which need no reference to Paris prêt-à-porter or New York cool: its skaters, surfers, rockers, cholas, bohemians, and glamour-pusses of the old Hollywood screen-star mold. “They’re not trends but actual looks that came about from subcultures, music, and counterculture—what I think are inherent and totally unique to the city,” she says. They hint at an L.A. beyond the old jeans-and-tees cliches, and according to stylist/designers (and City of Style subjects) Emily Current and Meritt Elliott, they may prove more influential than many yet admit—even outside city limits. “In the past decade, L.A. has really come into its own in having a distinctive and relevant fashion sensibility,” the duo tells Style.com.
City of Style: Exploring Los Angeles Fashion, from Bohemian to Rock is available at Barnes and Noble May 22.