Last year in spring I(D) was in the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM) Los Angeles, for campus open house, with my portfolio of illustrations .... and my admission advisor Bryanne Hill was bragging about a certain alumni whose name i didn't quite catch but definitely sounded French to my ear .... As I was shown around the campus, we came across a Limited Edition Designer Barbie Doll collection amongst which was one by the above esteemed alumni ...... Monique Lhuillier ( pronounced : moNEEK loolYAY ... The caps part are emphasized more than the non-caps :p ) ...... OF COURSE i knew about Monik Lui Li er !!!! ( the Indian pronunciation my friends hahahaha) .... Anybody Indian who watches the Oscars and have a drop of motherland-blood-loyalty towards AR Rahman would know about the queen of the Hollywood glamour set, if sartorially inclined of course ( 2 things about typical Indians - 1. nobody knows what the Academy Awards are, everybody knows the Oscars, since Lagaan, when it didn't win, and for the late bloomers, since Pussycat Dolls sang Jai Ho wearing cholis and dhotis ...... 2. everybody knows a fashion designer but we trust the sartorial sense of our local darzis(tailors) to make us fantastic copies (even of Monique after this post :p) at a rupee-economy-rate ) ..... Having said that my dear readers, we know how to appreciate a fabulous collection .... especially if it is in jewel colours of oxblood red, royal purple, emerald green, amethyst, silver, gold and bronze .... And that is what Monique Lhuillier presented in the Mercedes Benz New York Fashion Week, Fall 2013 !!!!!!

Monique Lhuillier

She said that the inspiration for the jewel tones started from a piece of Malachite rock and therefore she decided to paint the runway backdrop and stage in the swirling emerald and black formation pattern ...... The stunning stage reminded me of a Peter Lik (if you don't know his work, check google images :) photograph of the Grand Canyon ..... albeit in emerald which by the way is the Pantone colour of the year 2013 ..... "Then I decided to paint the [runway] backdrop that color because it feels so opulent and so inviting. And I wanted to build on that, so I added more jewel tones for the evening portion and, of course, black—because who doesn't want to wear black in the fall? Then I wanted to create the absence of color in the beginning of the show, which is why I did all those winter whites."
Every year, Pantone polls designers and brands about colors they’re featuring to aid in its decision for what hue will tinge the next 12 months. For 2013, the company has bestowed the distinction of Color of the Year on the shade its database identifies as 17-5641: Emerald Green.

The Collection

The show was just stunner after stunner ...... the malachite green backdrop and runway from the start ...... the snow white oversized cable knit sweater, the furs ..... cigarette pants, chic blouses, swing dresses, column gowns, spiderweb lace on illusion necklines, the flapper fringes, Art Deco patterns in shimmering gold ...... the modern gemstone jewellery pieces in amethyst and emerald ..... sleek geometric cut-out shoes ...... all breathtakingly glamorous and so Hollywood red carpet ..... sigh !!!!!

Details Accessories Hair Make Up

The biggest trend emerging from the collection as we see it is the cigarette pants under long dresses phenomenon .... quite a bit Indian-churidaar style .... the strong black swept eye without mascara look ..... and of course the colour emerald green !!


Hope you enjoyed this post, do drop in a comment .... and oh yes look out for these beauties on the red carpet ..... in the Oscar season coming up very shortly ....... Stay tuned for more :)

DS

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