story by Charles Beckwith
photos by udor
The runway show for Monique Lhuillier’s Spring 2013 collection opened with tight and sexy slick cuts using prints that looked like snakeskin from a distance, but turned out to be elegantly arranged symmetrical wave, wing, and swirl patterns when the looks came closer. The hem of the first long dress danced freely, animated by the model’s footfalls to project an unencumbered feeling. The next one had more of a lightly sashaying silky glide. Again and again the long dresses just flowed down the bodies of the models, like second skins. Ms. Lhuillier has a command of fabric like a master puppeteer. A particular black lace number was just *slink slink slink* all the way out to the end of the runway and back. So sexy.
The show was a bit long, some concepts were repeated more than was perhaps needed to express the idea of the collection, and the finale look was perplexing, seeming to be gold for gold’s sake and extraneous to the rest of the work, but the generally amazing vibe of the show was so strong and wonderful, those concerns matter little. It was very beautiful, full of color and life and great little details.
