Happily Ever After

Wedding dress designer and entrepreneur Monique Lhuillier turns her search for a bridal gown into a thriving business.

by Natasha D. Smith

April 16, 2009

T he hustle-and-bustle of a big-production New York City fashion show is enough to stress even the most celebrated fashion gurus. One runway slipup – just a single backstage mishap – is enough to trigger a couture catastrophe.

Prolific Los Angeles-based designer Monique Lhuillier is not only surviving the runways from Bryant Park to LA and beyond – she's thriving. The young designer says she's found a simple way to get away from it all. "I turn my phone off and relax," Lhuillier says with a sigh from her LA office.

Simple enough. But certainly running two popular bridal collections, an elegant ready-to-wear evening line, and a growing home collection is anything but simple. The challenge has proven gargantuan but not impossible for the 37-year-old businesswoman, who spent much of her childhood traveling from her hometown in the Philippines to Paris and other fashion capitals. "This is what I've always wanted to do, even as a child," Lhuillier says. "To see it all come together right now is so rewarding."

As a teenager, Lhuillier made up her mind to become a fashion designer and was accepted into the prestigious Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in California. There she earned her dream education and found the love of her life. Lhuillier says, like so many other young brides, it was a challenge finding the perfect wedding dress. That dilemma made Lhuillier realize she had the talent and the skill to do bridal designs better.  "I was a young bride looking for a wedding dress. When I got married to my husband, a year later I started a bridal collection," Lhuillier says.


"My customers were really having a wonderful experience with my wedding dresses," she says. "I asked myself, 'Why stop there? Why can't you dress them in the other special occasions in their lives?' So we started the evening business in 2001."

Numerous celebrities have walked down aisle in Monique Lhuillier designs, including singer Britney Spears during her wedding – a major fashion feat, indeed – to now ex-husband Kevin Federline.

Lhuillier warns that growing success does not mean that running a business inherently gets easier. The more achievement, she says, the more work. "Building a brand from scratch [is challenging]. Going on the road, selling the collection, then coming back and having to produce the collection is hard. It becomes more challenging as the company evolves and you take on more employees."

These days many young brides are reaping the benefits of Monique Lhuillier's success. Twice a year, Lhuillier releases a bridal collection. She releases a ready-to-wear collection four times a year, continually evolves her stationery line, bedding and bath collection, and fine tablecloth and crystal collections. But Lhuillier says it's not the number of collections that measure her achievement. It's how well women receive her vision.

"It's one thing to put a beautiful product out there," Lhuillier says. "But if no one buys it or nobody wears it, it's not relevant. We've been able to grow our business so much because the product really works out there. I actually see and meet customers wearing the clothes."


Although many designers would be satisfied with the fashion merits Lhuillier has earned, the designer says she ready to reach higher.

"Now that I've done the bridal collections, we're always working on things for the home like fragrances and candles. It's now about building the lifestyle brand, which is where we want to be." For aspiring designers who want the same success as this princess of bridal couture, Lhuillier gives some simple advice: Concentrate on your vision and your bottom line.

"Stay very focused. Your design needs to be true to your vision. Be who you are, and that will make your line stand out," she says. "After that, run a very tight business. That's the secret."

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Monique Lhuillier will present her Fall 2009 collection at the Nashville Symphony Spring Fashion Show  April 21, 2009. Monique Lhuillier bridal designs are available at Impressions Bridal Salon on West Paces Ferry Road in Buckhead.