Photo: vogue.com
Carolina Herrera is currently celebrating an impressive 35 years at the forefront of fashion, and the Venezuelan-born US-based designer will become the first American designer to be awarded The Women’s Leadership Award at the Lincoln Center’s Corporate Fund Gala this anniversary year.
Carolina’s unique contribution to fashion, culture and design will be the subject of an exclusive, one-night-only installation during the Lincoln Center Gala, which is being held on Tuesday, 6th December at Manhattan’s Alice Tully Hall. In receiving the prestigious Women’s Leadership Award, she will join the roll call of previous recipients which include Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney and Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli.
As the first Venezuelan designer to achieve international success, Carmen credits Carolina with giving much needed confidence and inspiration to fellow creatives in her home country. “She was the first one. She is also very elegant and the perfect ambassador for her brand”, Carmen says.
The gala, now a firm fixture on the fashion calendar, is an annual celebration of creativity, which to date has raised almost $4 million for the fund’sartistic, educational and community outreach programs. Fellow Venezuelan Carmen is among the co-chairs of this year’s event, alongside Harper’s Bazaar’s Glenda Bailey and Gabriela and Austin Hearst, Lincoln Center's Katherine Farley, Hearst's Steven R. Swartz, Audrey Gruss, Susan and John Jess, and Marigay Mckee and Bill Ford.
Carolina Herrera's first collection, 1981
Carolina Herrera, now 77, founded her label back in 1981. Following a move to New York, and with encouragement from friend and the then Vogue editor-in-chief Diana Vreeland, she began creating her own designs. Today, the brand is home to a bridal collection, fragrances and a range of accessories, as well as its signature ready-to-wear, and is carried by over 280 stores across 105 countries.
Carolina with Diana Vreeland at the Metropolitan Club in New York, 1981
Led by tradition rather than trends, Ms Herrera’s elegant, refined clothes have graced the corridors of the White House as well as innumerable red carpets, worn by the likes of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Michelle Obama and Renée Zellweger. “For me, fashion is about originality, sophistication and beauty,” she told the Washington Post. “I’m not in the fashion business; I’m in the beauty business”. In recognition of her inherent sophistication, she has featured on several best-dressed lists during her decades-long career.
Carolina Herrera's Spring/Summer 2017 Collection / Photo: vogue.com
Often captured in a crisp, white shirt, the designer’s personal style exemplifies elegance. “But she is more than the perfect white shirt,” said Bazaar’s Glenda Bailey, “Carolina Herrera is class personified".
Stay tuned for our coverage of the event.