Monique Lhuillier goes Goth romantic

Fashioning skulls and cobweb prints into a provocative and romantic collection. Photos by Elton Lugay

The ‘dark side’ of Monique Lhuillier couldn’t be more evident in her Fall 2014 collection. Imagine romance
in hues of blacks and grays, skull prints and vinyl coats and you have a collection that evokes futuristic drama.

“It’s all about architectural details,” the Hollywood designer told The FilAm. “It was about being dramatic and stepping on to the darker side.”

Monique said she has never done “anything like this before so decided I wanted to try something new.”

In one midi dress, she used gray skull prints for a pair of bell-sleeves. It’s hardly noticeable from a distance. In others are embroidered cobweb prints.

Particularly captivating was the pairing of the lace net blouse and the leather A-line skirt. Edgy yet feminine. Lhuillier is so good at giving her ensembles nice visual balance.

So many gorgeous cocktail dresses. One that stood out was the silk fringe number with a geometric lace neckline. Other mentionables were the pale gold long-sleeved embroidered
organza, which looked richly heavy though, and the embroidered cocktail dress in fuschia. The skull prints were so tiny, nearly hidden from the naked eye, that is, until one got close enough to the dress.

“Always wear what looks best on your body. It doesn’t matter what the trend is, everyone needs to wear what looks best on them, not what everyone else says they should wear,” has always been Monique’s fashion philosophy.

Stylist–Tina Laakkonen
Hair–Bob Recine for Moroccanoil
Makeup–Val Garland and The Mac Pro Team
Nails–Essie
Shoes–Monique Lhuillier Footwear
Undergarments–Commando

The author presents the TOFA-NY trophy to Heritage Awardee Monique Lhuillier, who could not attend last year’s ceremony.