Monique Lhuillier Spring 2011 – New York Fashion Week Review

When one thinks of an Asian fashion designer who got her start making wedding gowns before branching into more commercial fare, Vera Wang is the name that comes to mind. But while Wang has ventured well beyond her bridal roots – sometimes to mixed results as her collaborations with department store Kohl’s prove – Philippines-bred and L.A.-based Monique Lhuillier has stayed close to what she knows best, even in her ready-to-wear collections.

Lhuillier’s most recent offering, a self-described dreamlike sequence of “a beautiful girl running through…her very own Garden of Eden,” is her latest vibrant mastery of all things eveningwear. For spring, Lhuillier drew from a wide palette of colors and tastes more reminiscent of autumn – toffee, red apple, caramel – and juxtaposed them with subtle Biblical references to her chosen theme of Eden, including reptile prints and flowers. Despite the potentially dark undertones, Lhuillier’s aesthetic was saccharine rather than sinister, and there was not a single weak piece in the entire collection. An exquisite, one-shouldered white silk organza blouse featured intricate floral details all along the front side; those same details colored in toffee later in the runway show added superb volume to a strapless ball gown with an asymmetric tulle skirt.

Photo Gallery: Monique Lhuillier Spring 2011 – New York Fashion Week
all photos by Kwai Chan