Monique Lhuiller Spring 2015

Florals for spring, an original thought, right? Not.  And it has been done ad nauseam. Which is why the brilliant way Monique Lhuillier incorporated this overused inspiration in her spring 2015 collection proves that she is a genius in linear thought development as well as design and construction.

It is often said that fashion is now and next, leaning more toward now with a dose of aspirational next on the side. In this outing, Lhuillier started her collection the other way around, a lot of next with a dose of now thrown in for good measure. And it worked beautifully.

For spring 2015 Monique Lhuillier revisits florals but distilled through the lens of innovative textiles paired with embellishments that create texture and fantasy. For inspiration Lhuillier looked to the first few moments of sunrise when the sky is painted with luminous shades of pastels that she experienced while on a trip to Harbour Island in the Bahamas.

The color palette in this spring collection embraced soft hues of pink, coral, mint green, sky blue, pale yellow, lavender, and any hues that evoke an iridescent dream-like quality. Lhuillier combined these soft sunrise hues with modern elements of noir-coated mesh, laminated lace, iridescent metallic piping and liquid satin.

Though the silhouettes in this collection were not necessarily groundbreaking, Lhuilier ingeniously paired unique fabric combinations and innovative textile techniques in new and interesting ways. And, this is where Lhuillier excelled. As the proverb details “There is nothing new under the sun,” but with Lhuillier, this season, familiar silhouettes and structures look new again even though they were decades old!!

Unlike previous outings, there were lots of separates that could be used to update a spring/summer wardrobe. Surprisingly, there were few red-carpet gowns for spring 2015 with Lhuillier staying with the garden-party motif throughout much of the collection. With Lhuillier turning up the volume for her concept of next and now, overall, this collection may be her most successful artistically, as well as having the most market value.

Standouts for spring 2015, and there were many, included Lhuillier’s noir multi-floral embroidered tulle shell, silk white 4-ply silk crepe bandeau top with petal silk scuba short with noir contrast waistband, petal-embroidered tulle sleeveless gown with peplum and tulle skirt overlay, and pink multi-violet printed silk twill gazar one-shoulder tufted ball gown.

—William S. Gooch