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Jan 8th
Today, Venezuelan-born fashion designer Carolina Herrera celebrates her birthday. On this special day, let’s revisit her life and career highlights in 5 points.
Did you know that Carolina Herrera entered fashion design not before she was in her early 40s? Before she launched her successful career as a designer, she began working in 1965 as a publicist for fashion designer Emilio Pucci in his Caracas store. During that time, she met her second husband Reinaldo Herrera, and the two were part of an influential social circle made of personalities like Andy Warhol, Bianca Jagger, and Princess Margaret of Britain. In 1980, they moved to New York where she considered launching her fashion business.
Carolina Herrera was a close friend of Diana Vreeland, the former American Vogue editor-in-chief. The latter encouraged Herrera to show her first collection at New York's exclusive Metropolitan Club in 1981, which was an immediate success.
In 1987, Herrera debuts her Bridal Collection. Her wedding gowns were worn by influential figures and celebrities, for example, by Caroline Kennedy in 1986, with whom she had a close relationship. Another fun fact: she made a custom wedding dress for Twilight’s actress Kristen Stewart. In an interview with Vogue UK, Herrera revealed it took her 6 months to make it.
Looking at the history of her fragrances, the first one for women was launched in 1988, and another one - “CH Carolina Herrera” in 2007. In 1991, she introduced her first men’s fragrance, “Carolina Herrera for Men”, followed by “212 Men” in 1999. In 2015, she launched “Herrera Confidential”, an exclusive collection of fragrances and oils designed to capture the essence of the House of Herrera. Finally, 2016 saw the release of “Good Girl’, which is considered to be the brand’s most successful fragrance to date.
In 2001, she introduced CH Carolina Herrera, a lifestyle collection with ready-to-wear and accessories for men, women, and children. Besides apparel, the designer also ventured into eyewear in 2011 and makeup in 2020.
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