Monique Lhuillier sees her pre-collections as opportunities to expand her daywear range, and often the clothes are more desirable than the red carpet gowns in her ready-to-wear shows. This time around, she wanted the clothes to feel super luxe yet relaxed, so she tapped into the vintage-y magpie vibe that’s been trending since Alessandro Michele took over at Gucci. The palette was all muted greens, mauves, and mustards—sometimes mixed together, like the print Lhuillier developed for a ruffled blouse and peasant dress—and nearly every piece had some sort of special detail. On a silk blouse, it was a strip of gold lace around the neckline to mimic another shirt layered underneath; on a poppy lace dress, it was a sweet flared hem.
The biggest shift for Lhuillier was an emphasis on stand-alone pieces rather than full looks. “I think women are shopping for special items they can wear with jeans and can go from day to evening,” she explained. “No one has time to go home and change before an event anymore.” She pointed out a sparkling Lurex midi skirt, which you could wear with the lace top in the lookbook or your own cashmere sweater. A particularly striking pair of turquoise jacquard pants had the potential to attract new, edgier customers who might shy away from dresses. The collection could have used a few more trousers like those; Diane Kruger recently wore a sapphire bustier-and-pants ensemble from Lhuillier’s Spring ’16 collection to a LACMA gala and no doubt inspired lots of women to try the evening pant.
