Happy birthday to fashion designer and style icon Carolina Herrera! The Venezuelan-born designer started her own fashion line in 1980, encouraged by her friend, the celebrated Vogue editor Diana Vreeland. It was not long before Herrera was dressing the creme de la creme of international society, a clientele that included anyone from celebrities to First Ladies. Herrera’s design aesthetic is synonymous with classic, sophisticated lines–a timeless chic that she herself has possessed from a very young age.
In a 2011 interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Herrera relayed how as a teenager she sought to emulate the glamorous film stars of the 1950s: “I wanted to be a vamp with a cigarette holder and a hat with a veil and dress all in black.” Herrera’s style would evolve beyond the all black wardrobe, but would always maintain a high-level of elegance and beauty. Her inimitable fashion sense has earned her international “best-dressed” accolades, landing her on the International Best Dressed List in 1972 and in its Hall of Fame in 1981. Vanity Fair calls her “One of the Best Dressed Women in the World.”
CASSIDY ZACHARY 