What Hervé Léger Did Next…Hervé L. Leroux Haute Couture

Remember Hervé Léger, designer of the iconic bandage dress of the early 1990s that women around the world still enjoy wearing? In 1999, Léger lost control of his company and the commercial use of his name. He quickly created a new one in 2000 under the name of Hervé L. Leroux — a name suggested by Karl Lagerfeld to build on the association with the designer’s red hair — and Léger opened a boutique at 32 rue Jacob in Saint Germain des Prés, a building where the interior designer Madeleine Castain once lived.

Since then Léger has been primarily working on couture pieces for private customers, though he also launched a ready-to-wear line in 2007. Last week, the 55-year-old couturier returned to the official Haute Couture calendar as an invited guest.

He opted to display 12 couture dresses on mannequins in his atelier — a la Givenchy — an opportunity for journalists and buyers to appreciate the workmanship of his drapé up close, and he also presented five dresses in the window of Colette boutique.

The 17 dresses showcased the couturier’s expertise in making a woman’s body appear at its best, supporting her in all the right places and highlighting the neckline.

Each dress requires more than a week’s work as Léger himself patiently and meticulously drapes and folds the exclusive jersey fabric to create volume and highlight the wearer’s curves with a little help from internal corsets. Some of the dresses drapé recall Madame Grès’ works, though there is a very contemporary graphic feel too in the design created by the multi-pleats.

Staying mostly in monochromatic tone, Léger opted for jewelry tones with sapphire blue, fuchsia, yellow gold, purple, ultramarine along with a range of black, bronze, pearl, and sand.

Hervé L. Leroux dresses with their ultra-feminine and glamorous styling, are bound to cling soon to the bodies of Hollywood goddesses and will be a safe choice for any red carpet entrance.

first published on BlouinArtinfo.com