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story by Seth Friedermann
photos by Stephen F. Bodi
web editor Rachel Reneé
Carolina Herrera‘s fall 2012 collection was in general another strong example of the artistic tightrope act that has become her calling card. Mrs. Herrera provides a full lifestyle wardrobe for her client, which is a very normal choice for a designer with many seasons under her belt.
Her Fall 2012 collection encompassed a wide range of cuts and styles. From three high volume bottom gala worthy gowns through the sharply tailored separates and cocktail dresses that are her bread and butter. Mrs Herrera once again displayed her fine skill at creating styles that stand out due to her superior but often simple work with a limited number of elements. She always manages to create pieces that are striking without having to resort to excess.
No matter what their specialty was when a designer starts, one of the happy consequences of really connecting with a client is they end up asking you to make everything from casual to red carpet for them. The challenge then becomes applying your signature cuts, tailoring, techniques, or whatever makes your designers yours, to other types of clothing that are not really what you started out making. Carolina Herrera embraced that challenge years ago and her success at meeting it made her one of the top designers in the world.
Mrs Herrera’s clothes are by no means simple. In fact, they can often be quite complex. The aspect that marks her designs as exceptional is that even at her most complex, the clothes do not scream with technique or difficulty. They impress as a well-crafted stanza of poetry might, a complete thought perfectly expressed, neither too little or too much.
Among some of the more impressive pieces this season were her beautifully sculpted jackets, and sleeves which adorned most of the looks. They ranged from bolero to wrap, from knee length to midriff, all of them in superior and impressive fabrics, and many of them in beautiful prints. Mrs Herrera’s palette for Fall was for the most part cool and dark with a few eye-catching pops of pink and orange to lighten the day or light up the night. Carolina Herrera seems to be on cruise control these days. Her consistency from collection to collection is impressive to say the least. Certainly she is one of the foremost creators of beautiful luxury clothes in American fashion today. Her connection with her client is unshakable: she knows them and they buy into her work.
