Carolina Herrera fall 2020

What I find most troubling about this collection is what would have and what should have been beautiful and slick wasn’t! The question is who do I point a finger at ... a stylist or the designer?

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The clothes with their precise tailoring some beautiful dresses spoiled by puddling pants, bad choice of lengths (napkin sleeves included), certainly and shoes and most of all experiments gone awry. In essence the polish that was Carolina is not here ... but it is almost here and there lies the problem … ALMOST!

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The white laces and dresses are unnecessary for fall but the double faces and suitings beautiful in lush colorations are a welcome sight.

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Even some of the more “forward” design flourishes seemed to work and then there were some that should have been left in the sample room. My question is can a buyer see through the minor flaws... if in fact there is still a buyer who selects or will the overall sales suffer from how the clothes are shown as put together looks.

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While on the subject of flaws ... let’s talk about casting and some make up would have been nice as well as some well thought out hair… these young girls come off as escapees from the nunnery.

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 It’s a conundrum amongst designers apparently that they can’t see that these mid-calf lengths are totally unflattering on most of the retail clients and that women don’t want to look like they are standing in a hole. Business is tough enough as it is so why complicate it with these misjudgments just to satisfy a designing ego.

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Carolina Herrera spring 2020

Well, I  guess if wait long  enough and sift through the detritus of what has been shown that you actually can  find a gem  hidden in the horrendous display of bad taste and bad fashion that has been show thus far.

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Enter Wes Gordon for Carolina Herrera who delivers a high point to the season by presenting a collection that speaks to the DNA of the brand as well as being feminine, “girly,” pretty, colorful and … OMG… wearable!

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The collection is artfully merchandised to suit the “needs” and wants of women who search for  real clothes to wear in the city, at the beach, on vacation, as a wedding guest or to a cocktail party… if those still exist.

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Colorful, crisp and filled with prints all sewn into easy to understand and wearable clothes... Imagine that!! A dress or a skirt and shirt and sleeve details, beautiful embroideries and embellishment and a favorite of mine polka dots! Anderson even tackled the deadly cotton dress with great élan and skill. The striped cottons are as chic and urbane as their cocktail and evening counterparts. Take note of the play on volumes that he so deftly makes use of… from slim to seemingly inflated without looking clownish.

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In this ocean of wannabe designers and mediocre clothes along comes Mr. Gordon with a collection that reflects the brand’s clientele as well as speaking to the expansion of the brand’s clientele. And yes, these are rich lady   clothes that look like what they are!

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Carolina Herrera resort 2020

Wes Gordon might have learned via trial and error but this collection rings the bell! John Fairchild once dubbed Carolina “our lady of the sleeves” and Gordon has deftly taken that moniker to the extreme.

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No, it’s not a perfect collection but it is a collection that befits the brand’s DNA for the most part. Ms. Herrera has been a social fixture for decades and is personally known for her elegance and simplicity in her appearance. What I found a tad unnecessary and possibly even a tad offensive were the few pieces rendered in the serape stripe… she is Venezuelan not Mexican.

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The clothes are far more grown up than what Gordon has rendered in his past collections for the brand and one would think that this collection will bring back and resonate with many of the stalwart Herrera ladies and their daughters. Yes, the head wraps were silly as were some of the lengths and silhouettes but for the most part the clothes echo who and what the brand stands for.

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Understandably, all these young designers so eagerly want to put their mark on a heritage brand that they jump into the fray all too quickly and ignore the roots of the brand and such was case with Gordon since his start. Heritage brands like this must evolve not do a 180 in order so that a new designer can flex their design muscle. Just look at the mess of Balenciaga and what Slimane started and Vaccarello continues to do at Saint Laurent.

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As the saying goes … “you’re only as good as your last collection” so let’s wait and see how this unfolds.

Carolina Herrera NYFW fall 2019

During its almost 4 decades of business Carolina Herrera has gone through many iterations and interpretations of what the brand is about. The brand has come  a long way from “our lady of the sleeves” to a luncheon lady collection to various other ways of appealing to a younger clientele… more like to the daughters of the ladies who lunched!

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However, for a while the brand cruised along with few blips while it remained and retained a certain amount of chic and soigné as well as a precision/edge that she was known for … that is until now! The new designer has tossed out the history of the heritage brand and turned it into a been there done that lookalike collection that has no resemblance whatsoever to Carolina Herrera at any stage of its life, the brand or person.

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Who is paying attention here? I mean really from Zoran like tunics to parachute dresses to nightshirts... wtf has happened and wtf are they thinking. There is nothing here that can’t be found elsewhere and I’m sure at a fraction of the price. Most will accuse me of being hyper critical or old fashioned but  open your eyes and look at what this is …………… keep on moving cause there’s nothing to see here! Just some clothes which look rather sloppy and uncared for.

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