Carolina Herrera is celebrating her 35th anniversary in business this year; in December she’s set to receive the Women’s Leadership Award at Lincoln Center’s Corporate Fund gala. She has never been a designer much interested in the past. Just last season she said, “I want to see women looking beautiful, but in an actual way . . . I’m very pro new technology.” But her new Resort collection does feel like a return to classic Herrera. Or maybe a better way to look at it is classic American sportswear. Not to say this appeared retro—that’s definitely something that Herrera isn’t interested
in—but rather that it was refined down to its essence. In recent seasons chez Herrera you’d occasionally encounter unusual embroideries, often with a futuristic feel. At their worst, the resulting clothes could feel fussy and quite contrary to Herrera’s personal dressing code, which is strict.
Here, Herrera simplified, very much for the better. There were thick, rugby-esque stripes on evening numbers; denim was dressed up and cut into a sheath dress; and evening separates were whipped up in glossy black sequins. Silhouette-wise, she embraced peplums and very generously cut high-waisted,
wide-leg pants. Herrera’s got a new back-room team. The Swarovski Award for Emerging Talent–nominated Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia of Monse signed on earlier this year. We’d say everyone is off to a strong start. Lincoln Center will be a very pretty place when Herrera’s nearest and dearest turn up in Resort’s frothy tulle evening looks to honor the designer.
