This article’s title could only apply to this woman who fulfills two conditions – she is Venezuelan and an icon of New York City. Her blond hair, immaculate white shirt, bearing and creativity are all part of her unique and personal hallmark. Her name: Carolina Herrera. Her passion: the image of contemporary women.
Her elegant yet sober designs have captivated international public attention since she launched her first collection in 1980. Even the most beautiful of her classically styled designs did not overshadow the essence of the female form, in stark contrast to the trends coming out of Paris and Milan, characterized by excess. From the moment she started in the business Carolina wanted her designs to be different; and she had the belief to achieve it.
Little was known of her: her childhood in a high class Caracas family and her second marriage to aristocratic Reinaldo Herrera, thanks to which she became one of New York’s most recognizable socialites.
She went on from this first collection to launch a line of bridal designs and a perfume collection, becoming Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’ favorite designer, and in the end more people were interested in Carolina herself than in her husband.
So when Carolina found herself in the world of fashion, this was nothing new for her. And this happened at the tender age of thirteen, when her grandmother took her to a fashion show by Balenciaga in Paris. From this time on, clothes and their designs began to take over her life until she began to make regular appearances on lists of the world’s best dressed women.
In the end it was Diana Vreeland, editor of Vogue magazine together with Count Rudi Crespi, who convinced her to transfer her exquisite taste into her own designs and launch her first collection. This marked the beginning of the fashion house bearing her name, better known worldwide by the initials CH, which today is valued at 410 million dollars and has seventy stores all over the world, one of which was recently opened in Bogota.
The numbers are complemented by the names of well known women who have adopted Carolina Herrera’s label as their own distinctive mark. Without any doubt the most famous of these was Jackie O. Equally distinguished are Renee Zellweger, Salma Hayek, Courtney Cox, Stockard Channing and Jennifer Connelly. Their identities are known because they have decided to make public their preference for the Venezuelan’s designs; because if it was up to Carolina, their names would never be known. Her absolute respect towards her clients’ privacy is almost as famous as her designs.
From her very first collection, attention has focused not just on conservatism and elegance, but on contemporary society’s response whenever her creations are unveiled. This principle is well illustrated by the runway show presented by Carolina Herrera at the most recent New York Fashion Week, where she unveiled her 2009/2010 Autumn Winter collection.
She used this as a platform to express her opinion about the international economic crisis. Her show responded to pessimism and anxiety with designs that made reference to the architectural opulence of the 18th century, using materials such as suede, brocade, silk, lace and jacquard. In her own words, she did this because “When the economy is not doing well, we have to produce something even more special. We have to use something to attract women that is so special they have to have it. It cannot be something for everybody. It has to be something to ensure that the woman who buys something in Carolina Herrera feels beautiful.”
And there is no doubt that the CH brand has achieved that objective. To wear one of her creations ― even the most discreet ― is to be surrounded with an aura of glamour and elegance that shines. This is the miraculous effect whereby the wearer takes on the essence of the designer, becoming imprinted with the characteristics that have made her one of the most influential figures in the fashion world over the past hundred years. She knows how to dress herself and how to dress others. This title of first lady will therefore never be too ostentatious for Carolina Herrera.
www.carolinaherrera.com |
