Carolina Herrera Takes You Through 35 Years in Fashion
Since 1981, Carolina Herrera has dressed a whole lot of celebrities. From Renee Zellweger to Lupita Nyong’o, she’s become a red carpet staple, not to mention a mainstay at charity balls as well as for the upper crust of New York society. So it’s no surprise that her first-ever retrospective at both Atlanta’s SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film and the SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah features many dresses with a backstory. There’s Bella Swan’s bridal gown from the movie Twilight: Breaking Dawn, a blush-pink mermaid gown that Lady Gaga wore to the Producers Guild of America Awards this year, and the strapless number Taylor Swift wore to the 2014 Golden Globes. Still, building a veritable fashion empire is not all award shows and society swans. “There is always a challenge in fashion – it is hard work. It is determination. It’s perseverance,” said Herrera. “I think you have to be very strong in the fashion industry. You have to have your eyes open and you have to believe in your style.” By now, many of her contemporaries have stepped down, handing off the reigns to successors – Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, and most recently Diane Von Furstenberg. Herrera herself just announced the appointment of Monse designers Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia to her team, perhaps a sign of her own forthcoming retirement. But she’s not talking about that just yet, instead offering up this: “Fashion has changed and it changes all the time. Fashion is magical. Fashion is a dream.” Here, Herrera herself offers a guided preview of “Refined Irreverence,” open now through September 25th.
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Carolina Herrera attending the opening reception of her exhibition Refined Irreverence at SCAD FASH. Photo courtesy of SCAD.
Installation of Carolina Herrera: Refined Irreverence at SCAD FASH and SCAD Museum of Art.
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“Lupita [Nyong’o] is very elegant – this print looked absolutely fabulous on her.”
Left: Navy strapless silk faille dress with embroidered hemline, Resort 2014. Worn by Sandra Bullock at the 2013 “Gravity” movie premiere, Tokyo. Courtesy of Carolina Herrera.
Right: Navy and gold honeysuckle floral jacquard cocktail dress, Resort 2014. Worn by Lupita Nyong’o at the 2014 American Film Institute Awards, Los Angeles. Courtesy of Carolina Herrera.
Installation of Carolina Herrera: Refined Irreverence at SCAD FASH and SCAD Museum of Art.
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“Fashion is a repetition of ideas, but you have to do it in a modern way. You can take ideas from the past, but you cannot take the ideas exactly as they were. It is the details that you use in your collections that make it exciting and new and modern.”
Vibrant pink techno pique gown with translucent belt, Spring 2015. Worn by Camilla Belle at the 2014 amfAR LA Inspiration Gala, Hollywood. Courtesy of Carolina Herrera.
Installation of Carolina Herrera: Refined Irreverence at SCAD FASH and SCAD Museum of Art.
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“I love polka dots. In fact, my first perfume, Carolina Herrera, featured a box with polka dots and a yellow ribbon. Polka dots are visually fantastic.”
Left: Flower appliqué techno jersey T-shirt and petal jacquard skirt, Spring 2015. Worn by Carolina Herrera at the 2015 induction of her 1979 portrait by Robert Mapplethorpe into the National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C. Courtesy of Carolina Herrera.
Right: Black and white polka-dot print mikado gown with tiered ruffles, Resort 2012. Worn by Patricia Herrera Lansing at the 2011 Met Apollo Circle Benefit, New York. Courtesy of Carolina Herrera.
Installation of Carolina Herrera: Refined Irreverence at SCAD FASH and SCAD Museum of Art.
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“Carolina [Herrera de Báez] knew exactly what she wanted to wear for her wedding and this was the result! She looked so beautiful.”
Ivory silk chiffon gown with pleated bodice and antique crystal-embroidered straps, Custom. Worn by Carolina Herrera de Báez at her 2004 wedding. Cáceres. Courtesy of Carolina Herrera.
Installation of Carolina Herrera: Refined Irreverence at SCAD FASH and SCAD Museum of Art.
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Azalea faille strapless gown with multicolored grosgrain bow detail, Resort 2006. Worn by Lauren Santo Domingo in 2005 and featured in 2016 W Magazine profile of SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film’s exhibition, “A Fashionable Mind: Photographs by Jonathan Becker.” Courtesy of Carolina Herrera.
Installation of Carolina Herrera: Refined Irreverence at SCAD FASH and SCAD Museum of Art.
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Installation of Carolina Herrera: Refined Irreverence at SCAD FASH and SCAD Museum of Art.
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Left to right: Multicolored floral printed satin face organza strapless gown, Resort 2014. Worn by Emmy Rossum at the 2014 Met Gala, New York. Courtesy of Carolina Herrera. Strapless botanical print faille gown, Spring 2011. Similar style from the same collection worn by Sofía Vergara at the 2011 Met Gala, New York. Courtesy of Carolina Herrera. Navy off-the-shoulder rose print faille gown, Pre-Fall 2015. Worn by Camilla Belle at the 2015 event The Art of Elysium and Samsung Galaxy Present Marina Abramović’s “Heaven,” Los Angeles. Courtesy of Carolina Herrera.
Installation of Carolina Herrera: Refined Irreverence at SCAD FASH and SCAD Museum of Art.
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“The light blue silk dress worn by Lily Aldridge at the 2015 Met Gala was inspired by my Fall 2015 collection, which was all about the interpretation of water. I wanted Lily to look like she was floating when she walked. The color was perfection on her!”
Installation of Carolina Herrera: Refined Irreverence at SCAD FASH and SCAD Museum of Art.
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“I love carnations and I always have them in my house. I pinned one to my white blouse for this portrait and David Downtown did a wonderful job illustrating it!”
Ivory shirt and tobacco silk faille skirt, 2005. Worn by Carolina Herrera for her 2012 portrait by David Downton, as published in the Vanity Fair feature “International Best-Dressed Hall of Fame.” Courtesy of Carolina Herrera. Standing by Portrait of Carolina Herrera by David Downton ©2012 David Downton
Installation of Carolina Herrera: Refined Irreverence at SCAD FASH and SCAD Museum of Art.
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“Elegance, beauty, and femininity are three key elements for a collection designed by a woman.”
Silver beaded and Chantilly lace embroidered petal off-the-shoulder gown, Spring 2014. Bridal. Courtesy of Carolina Herrera.
Installation of Carolina Herrera: Refined Irreverence at SCAD FASH and SCAD Museum of Art.
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“It was very special to dress Renee [Zellweger] the night she won her Oscar. She knew she wanted to look glamorous and we both loved the idea of her wearing white. She looked stunning!”
White mikado strapless column gown with dramatic bow and train detail, 2004, Bridal. Custom version worn by Renée Zellweger at the 2004 Academy Awards, Hollywood. Courtesy of Renée Zellweger.
Installation of Carolina Herrera: Refined Irreverence at SCAD FASH and SCAD Museum of Art.
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“The white shirt for me is like a security blanket. I suppose the first time I wore it was when I went to school and my uniform had the little white shirt with the Peter Pan collar – then I wore it when I was riding or I was playing tennis. It’s something that you can dress up or you can dress down. You can wear it with a ball gown skirt. You can wear it with a pair of jeans. It’s very snappy.”
White cotton blouse with pleated waist, circa 2009. Courtesy of Carolina Herrera.
Installation of Carolina Herrera: Refined Irreverence at SCAD FASH and SCAD Museum of Art.
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“Inspiration has to be with you all day. It’s not simply that you are going to create a collection and you lock yourself in a black room and wait until the muses come down. It doesn’t work that way. You have to be designing for the women of today.. Everything is an inspiration. A conversation is an inspiration – colors, anything – if you have your eyes open.”
Installation of Carolina Herrera: Refined Irreverence at SCAD FASH and SCAD Museum of Art.
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Left to right: Ivory and silver embellished crepe crop top with matching box pleat maxi skirt, Spring 2016. Courtesy of Carolina Herrera. Dove gray strapless tulle gown with platinum embroidery, Custom. Worn by Renée Zellweger at the 2011 Golden Camera Awards, Berlin. Courtesy of Renée Zellweger. Geometric jacquard gown with crystal-beaded straps, Spring 2012. Courtesy of Carolina Herrera. Ivory and pale blue striped taffeta trench gown, Resort 2005. Courtesy of Carolina Herrera.
Installation of Carolina Herrera: Refined Irreverence at SCAD FASH and SCAD Museum of Art.
