Carolina Herrera (brand)

Summary

Venezuelan-American fashion designer Carolina Herrera is acclaimed for her eponymous New York-based fashion brand, loved for its beautiful handcrafted collections, impeccable style and bold elegance. With the appointment of Wes Gordon as Creative Director in 2018, the luxury fashion brand reinforced its commitment to the strong codes established by the founder: blending the traditions of couture craftsmanship with the wearability of ready to wear. The Carolina Herrera brand includes a portfolio of ready-to-wear, bridal wear, eyewear and fragrance as well as accessories for women, men and children. Today Carolina Herrera is part of PUIG- a third-generation family-owned fashion and fragrance business based in Barcelona.

Vision

The Caroline Herrera woman should be fun, fabulous and the best dressed.  If every woman around is wearing black, she would be wearing hot pink because she dresses for herself and treats every moment like a celebration!

Mission Statement

To work at an international level, offering quality products to clients.

History

Born in Caracas in Venezuela Carolina Herrera’s grandmother introduced her to fashion.. taking the young girl to Balenciaga shows and gifting her beautiful clothes from Lanvin and Dior. In 1965 Herrera began her career as a publicist for Emilio Pucci’s boutique and moved to New York in 1980. A regular at Studio 54.. Herrera chilled with Mick and Bianca Jagger, Andy Warhol and Diana Vreeland who encouraged her to design a collection since she was admired for her dramatic style and elected to the International Best Dressed List.

Having made samples in Caracas.. Carolina Herrera launched her eponymous label at the age of forty-two and showcased it in Manhattan. Following the initial success she raised capital in Caracas for a runway show in 1982 and since presented ready to wear womenswear bi-annually at New York Fashion Week. Her illustrious clientele includes Michelle Obama- Duchess of Cadaval and Renée Zellweger. What most do not know however is that Herrera’s most famous client was Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Her name however did soar after she designed a white organza bridal gown with shamrock appliqués for the wedding of Kennedy Onassis’ daughter Caroline Kennedy in 1986.

In the late Eighties Puig — which owns Prada, Valentino and Comme des Garçons fragrance lines and fashion brands Paco Rabanne, Nina Ricci and Jean Paul Gaultier — licensed Carolina Herrera to develop a line of perfumes. In 1995 Puig acquired the fashion brand retaining her as Creative Director. “Puig is a family business. That gives you confidence” Herrera told WWD. “We understand each other very well. They’re very respectful of what I do, I’m in the creative side of this company. I’m not the business side. You ask me what is my business, I don’t have the slightest idea.”

Acclaimed for her ready-to-wear and bridal wear.. Herrera introduced diffusion line CH Carolina Herrera in 2001. Having launched her first boutique in 2000, Herrera since launched over eighteen boutiques worldwide with a retail presence in near three hundred stores.  In 2014 The Couture Council of the Museum at FIT honoured Carolina Herrera with Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center… kicking off the spring 2015 collections in New York. “Carolina truly is a legend. Her designs evolve and continue to grow yet they feel both timeless and contemporary” Ivanka Trump told Forbes. There was no stopping her! In 2016 Carolina Herrera released fragrance “Good Girl” with Karlie Kloss as the face of the fragrance.

After a successful thirty-seven years in the fashion business.. Herrera stepped down in 2018 and handed the creative reins of the fashion brand to Wes Gordon. And he continues to begin. Resort 2024 was a hit and described by Vogue as “Gordon has never shied away from a bold, colorful palette or exuberant prints; but showing in Rio gave him an excuse to go wild… I was struck by how perfectly the scene captured the essence of the Carolina Herrera woman: elegant, but strong, and ready to have a good time—no matter the elements.”

Awards and Recognition

Carolina Herrera is a New York-based fashion house recognized for creating beautifully crafted collections synonymous with impeccable style and bold elegance. In 2008 Herrera was awarded the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America and “Womenswear Designer of the Year” in 2004. She is also a recipient of The International Center in New York’s Award of Excellence and Spain’s Gold Medal for Merit in the Fine Arts, which was presented to her in 2002 by King Juan Carlos I. What’s more, she was awarded the Gold Medal of the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute in 1997. Carolina Herrera then received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement during the International Achievement Summit in New York City and The Fashion Group International’s Superstar Award which has also been awarded to industry stalwarts Donna Karan, Giorgio Armani, Valentino, Karl Lagerfeld, Oscar de la Renta and Nicolas Ghesquière. In 2014, she earned the 2014 Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion.

Products and Services

Womenswear and fragrance

Key Team

• Founder Carolina Herrera
• President Emilie Rubinfeld
• Creative Director Wes Gordon

References

1. Official website Carolina Herrera
2. Tranquility amid success The New York Times
3. Carolina Herrera Resort 2024 Vogue
4. How Carolina Herrera turned being chic into big business CNN
5. LinkedIn account of Carolina Herrera LinkedIn
6. Carolina Herrera’s Quiet Path to Power WWD
7. The Couture Council Of The Museum At FIT Honors Carolina Herrera, Raises Close To $1 Million Forbes
8. Carolina Herrera: A Profile Vogue
9. Facebook account of Carolina Herrera Facebook
10. A profile of Puig Modeas
11. Twitter account of Carolina Herrera Twitter
12. Carolina Herrera is an Honorary Superstar Elle
13. Instagram account of Carolina Herrera Instagram
14. From Venezuela to Seventh Avenue, Carolina Herrera’s Fashions Cast a Long Shadow People
15. Youtube channel of Carolina Herrera Youtube
16. My Secret Life: Carolina Herrera, fashion designer, 71 Independent
17. Wiki page of Carolina Herrera Wikipedia
18. Carolina Herrera Hosts Second Annual Fundraising Event for the FundaHigado America Foundation World Red Eye
19. Carolina Herrera Fall 2021 RTW Vogue
20. The Couture Council to Honor Carolina Herrera WWD