Page 55 - Real Style Summer 2017

9 A.M. worKing MoM
“i leave for the of ce. i’ll check my emails and do phone calls in the morning.
i’ve learned to be organized—really everything goes on a calendar—and how to delegate more. one thing tom and i are so proud of, is that a lot of our team members have been with us from the very beginning.”
10:30 A.M. sAY Yes to tHe Dress
“i do a tting. When i say tting that means i have a t model in my design
space and i’m draping fabric over her and we’re talking about silhouettes. i
like to work on the body. the thing that stays consistent [in my design process]
is beautiful fabric selections, whether i develop those fabrics or i am inspired by a beautiful piece of art and i translate that into fabrications.”
4 p.M. All in tHe DetAils
“i review the storyboard, the fabric boards, and then i get on more phone calls. it could be [press] interviews. after
that, i have to nalize the accessories for my next show, so i’ll go to that meeting.”
7:30 p.M. HoMe sweet HoMe
“i get home. i have dinner with my children, put them to bed, and then i either go out and see some friends and have adult time, or i take a long bath and start to unwind. in the evening, going out and seeing other people in my collections, i really feel validated and attered [that they] choose to wear my clothes and feel special in them. that keeps me going.”
On working together all day with her signi cant other, Lhuillier con- cludes, “It’s not for everybody, but the reason it’s worked for us is because we started this company together very young—I was 23 and he was 24—and we really have different strengths. I graduated from fashion school and was always creative, [whereas] he graduated from business school...so we have totally different expertise.”
From haus to home, Lhuillier feels that L.A. has afforded an appealing balance of work and family life. But, starting out, the choice to keep the business on the West Coast, instead of uprooting to New York City, took careful consideration.
“Twenty years ago, L.A. was not as fashionable as it is today,” Lhuillier re ects before fast-forwarding to now. “There is a lot of opportunity here, but
everything is so spread out—there’s nothing centralized—so we all do our own thing. In New York there’s a lot of crossover with everyone be- ing in the city and you have the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) that keeps everyone involved,” she says. “[But] there’s so much inspiration here and so many talented people—not only in fashion, but also lm, and contemporary artists. It’s a very exciting time in L.A.”
Lhuillier attributes the glamourous edge that is a constant in her de- sign aesthetic, not to the lights-camera-action of Hollywood, but rather as being partially inherited from her mother. The designer describes her mother as having a penchant for dressing up and entertaining. “My mother always put a lot of attention into looking great and feeling great, and using fashion to help her do that was something that’s instilled in me. That was my rst introduction to fashion and I’ll carry that with me throughout my life,” she shares.
Looking at the possibility of further diversifying her portfolio, Lhuil- lier alludes to a possible crossover into cosmetics. “I’m hoping the next step will be makeup and fragrance because I feel that it ts seamlessly with what I do—beauty and fashion,” she says.
Sounds like a beauty-full union to us.
Monique lhuillier
55