“This is a happy house.” Acknowledging the sad state of so many things in the world these days, Carolina Herrera said the only response for her brand was to embrace happiness. Color, print, and embellishment are central to the Herrera ethos, but she approached them with extra gusto this season. The red shade of a trim coat and a long evening dress was redder (for the record, the brand is calling it tangelo), and the fuchsia of soft suede separates was similarly insistent. Even the dark denim pieces, which were otherwise understated, were top stitched in rainbow-hued threads.
Herrera said she looked at Flemish floral paintings for inspiration. As such, there was an exuberance of flowers: printed dahlias on a flowing evening dress, showy plastic lilies stitched to the waistband of a princess coat, and charming jewel-like lilies of the valley adorning the pockets of a puff-shouldered black blazer. The flower prints, in particular, had a fresh, youthful quality, more than likely because they appeared on fluid, unstructured chiffon and georgette. The models willowed.
The designer herself wore a sensational cast resin winter orchid brooch on her cropped black jacket. It seemed to have inspired the lifelike re-creations she used here. Herrera has always been her own best advertisement, which is why one of the more stately gowns stood out. With its black off-the-shoulder bodice and dramatic white skirt, it was opulent but serene—made in her image.
