Gown Designer Monique Lhuillier

Monique Lhuillier, born and bred in the Philippines, is weaving a big name in the United States via her dreamy bridal gowns and figure-flattering evening wear. Growing up in the Philippines taught her that beauty was very important to Filipinos. Women always make an effort to look their best and they really appreciate nice clothes and nice things. Those ideas were instilled in her early in life, so she is just taking this further throughout my life. She traveled extensively as a child with her family to Paris and Los Angeles and was introducted to glamourous style as a little girl. When Monique was fifteen, she decided to pursue her goal as a designer.

Her and her husband Tom Bugbee, a finance man, opened a bridal boutique in the heart of Beverly Hills, which carries her French-sounding name in 1996. The bridal line has been extremely well received and can be viewed at department stores and specialty boutiques throughout the US, Canada, Mexico and Japan. Later wanting to provide a location in the center of the United States she opened a second bridal boutique in Minneapolis. The designer has been compared recently to fashion headliners Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera and Vera Wang who happen to be her idols.

The petite designer herself has become the preferred choice of a growing number of Hollywood A-listers, including Eva Longoria, Angelina Jolie, Sarah Jessica Parker, Sharon Stone, Teri Hatcher, Reese Witherspoon, and Jessica Alba.

Lhuillier, 35, is the first to point out, however, that hers hasn’t been an overnight success, but the product of years of hard work and planning. As a virtual unknown, she started in the fashion industry by joining bridal fairs in Las Vegas. Now a proud mother of 10-month-old Jack Nicholas, Lhuillier says motherhood hasn’t dampened her enthusiasm for work. In fact, she adds, it has made her even more sensitive and empathetic to the needs of women, her one and only target market. Monique received the 2001 Glamorous Bridal Designer Award, the 2002 Avant Garde Bridal Designer Award and the 2003 Designer of the Year Award from Wedding Dresses Magazine and the bridal industry members. In 2003, she was also inducted as a new member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA).

Monique Lhuiller has quite a few new projects on the horizon: She is doing fine china with Royal Doulton, stemware, giftware, that’s all coming out in April. She is designing handbags that are coming out in April also. And then further down the line, she is working on a fragrance. She’s also working on a hotel suite with Richard Branson. He’s opening his first property in New York and Lhuiller is going to do the honeymoon suite.

Monique feels that for the regular woman her wedding day is her Oscar or her red-carpet moment. She knows the bride wants it to be perfect so she treats the design of each and every dress with as much respect as I would she were dressing a celebrity going down the red carpet. She believes women come to her for their special moments because they know she is there to make them look their best.

Monique’s advice to brides looking for that perfect wedding gown is don’t try and overdo it. Simple is better if you don’t have a big budget, and it’s all about a great fit on a gown. If the fit is great, it could look like a million bucks even if it didn’t cost that. So it’s really about a great fit.