As she intricately slid the last pearl bead through the bottom of other shiny pearl beads, wedding designer Lujen Labib makes "needle swinging" look easy. As she loops, weaves and beads, she is in deep concentration. Her grandmother comes to mind. 

 

Though she died in 2014, every stitch echoes her grandmother's influence. Once upon a time, Lujen, when she was seven, sat next to her grandmother and learned to thread a needle. She hasn't put it down since. These days, just like her grandmother did, Craft Designing. But instead of a cozy at home dress like her Mema’s Lujen's shop, Royal Lily Boutique, since 2019, is nestled in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, DTLA. 

 

Though from Libya, North Africa, she spent her formative years in the United Kingdom. At 21, Lujen She found safety and peace in Los Angeles. Determined to define her American Dream, Lujen enrolled in school and attended Fullerton College and Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, FIDM, where she studied fashion design and business. 

 

So far removed from the days she sewed flowers onto small pillows using colorful treads for school competitions, these days Lujen designs specialty gowns for brides looking for something "more" on their journey to "Happily Ever After." 

 

In less than three years and amid a worldwide pandemic, Lujen rapidly built a reputation as one of LA's most promising bridal dress designers. 

 

Lujen is Los Angeles' first Libyan wedding designer whose innovative styles and designs unveil jaw-dropping and iconic gowns of the finest and highest quality fabrics, laces, pearls, Swarovski crystals, threads, and other jewels.