There’s a body-con knit dress with a handkerchief hem in Monique Lhuillier’s fall collection that’s pretty, pink, and decidedly not precious. As such it gathers a few themes that are explored throughout this offering. One being the designer’s increased focus on separates. Some of these are dressy day options, others are for big evenings, such as a midriff-baring corset top with bows at the shoulders to pair with a matching ball skirt (or, possibly, jeans).
Also of note is a pink tuxedo shirt paired with a side-wrap, slightly higher-waisted slim skirt, which is styled with Wellies. Lhuillier recently opened a store in London, her first in Europe, and the lookbook was shot in the English countryside, symbolically extending her reach in “the sceptered isle.” One of the designer’s preoccupations was creating a sense of “regality,” which she conjured with “beautiful sculpted necklines.”
As remarkable as the workmanship is on the embellished dresses, it’s the monochrome looks that best communicate that sense of stateliness, as in a velvet column with a draped pink top, an off-the-shoulder emerald dress that is fitted through the ribcage, a knit LBD with a portrait neckline, or a one-shoulder jumpsuit with a draped train. There are also Italian-tailored coats, in ivory or the softest of pinks, to shrug on over any of these dresses, bringing a touch of unexpected casual chic to her formalwear.
