Carolina Herrera (brand)

Summary

Venezuelan-American fashion designer Carolina Herrera is acclaimed for her New York-based fashion brand, loved for its beautiful handcrafted collections, impeccable style and bold elegance.

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, 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 then moved to New York in 1980. A regular at Studio 54, Herrera chilled with Mick and Bianca Jagger, Andy Warhol and Diana Vreeland, Editor, Vogue who encouraged her to design a collection since she was admired for her dramatic style and elected to International Best Dressed List. Having made samples in Caracas, Herrera followed her advice, 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 clientele includes Michelle Obama, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Duchess of Cadaval and Renée Zellweger.

In the late Eighties, Puig — which owns Prada, Valentino and Comme des Garçons fragrance lines and brands Paco Rabanne, Nina Ricci and Jean Paul Gaultier — licensed Carolina Herrera to develop a line of perfumes and in 1995 acquired the entire fashion brand, retaining her as Creative Director. 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 2016, she released fragrance ‘Good Girl’ with Karlie Kloss as the face of the fragrance. Finally, 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.

Per WWD, Fashion Group president Margaret Hayes said, “Carolina is an international icon and a brilliant businesswoman. For over three decades, she’s remained true to her elegant design aesthetic in everything — from her signature collection to her bridal, accessories and fragrance collections — while presiding over a global business with a singular focus on excellence…” In 2014, The Couture Council of the Museum at FIT honoured Carolina Herrera with Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion at Lincoln Center. “Carolina truly is a legend. Her designs evolve and continue to grow, they feel both timeless and contemporary,” said Ivanka Trump, per Forbes.

Awards and Recognition

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

Creative Director Wes Gordon

References

1. https://www.forbes.com/sites/bettinazilkha/2014/09/04/the-couture-council-of-the-museum-at-fit-honors-carolina-herrera-raises-close-to-1-million/
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolina_Herrera
3. https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-2021-ready-to-wear/carolina-herrera
4. https://www.nytimes.com/1994/01/04/style/for-carolina-herrera-tranquillity-amid-success.html
5. https://edition.cnn.com/2012/03/13/business/herrera-fashion-business/index.html
6. https://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-scoops/herreras-honor-7417294/
7. https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/08/fashion/08WHATIWORE.html
8. https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#business
9. http://wwd.com/fashion-news/designer-luxury/carolina-herrera-fashion-elite-nyfw-10343673/
10. https://worldredeye.com/2017/04/carolina-herrera-hosts-second-annual-fundraising-event-fundahigado-america-foundation/