This post is inspired by some of the most stunning and sleek looks to hit the runway during New York Fashion Week, and that would be Monique Lhuillier’s entire Fall 2015 Ready to Wear collection. I only wish I had time to illustrate each and every piece, because they were all that too-rare combo of show-stopping as well as wearable. There were form fitting as well as flowing gowns that moved with the body and evoked old Hollywood glamour, but also included modern updates like cutout panels on the waist of one lace cocktail dress and a few 1950s-inspired silhouettes that had floral patterns in this season’s electrifying peacock hues. Lhuillier’s designs remind me of what I used to love (and still do) about L’Wren Scott’s, which is that they radiate glamour and are sexy because of their shapes and luxurious materials, not because they show a lot of skin.
Anyway, for these illustrations, I decided to focus on a couple of the more low-key looks in all-black, with the stars of the show being, well, the actual stars that dotted two mesh pieces. One was a bodysuit worn under a coat (above) and another was a panel on a swishy dress (below). I used watercolor pencils instead of my usual watercolor paints since I thought the sketchy look of the pencils went well with the gritty glam of the outfits. If you want see photos of the collection, there’s a bunch of good ones at style.com.