Carolina Herrera

Carolina Herrera was born Maria Carolina Josefina Pacanins y Nino in 1939. Her grandmother ignited her love for fashion by buying her outfits from Dior and Lanvin, as well as taking her to Balenciaga fashion shows. Her second marriage to Reinaldo Herrera Guevara further reinforced her experience with fashion; he was the special projects editor of Vanity Fair. In 1981, editor-in-chief of Vogue and personal friend Diana Vreeland suggested that Herrera design a clothing line, which inspired her to launch a collection that was soon met with critical acclaim in Manhattan. A Park Avenue boutique picked up her line, which led to Herrera’s first runway show that notably included soon-to-be supermodel Iman. By the 1980s, Herrera’s line was eagerly received by the public. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis even requested Herrera’s services for her daughter’s wedding. The company’s success encouraged Spanish fragrance company Puig to pitch a collaboration with the designer, and by 2008, the women’s fragrance by the name of Carolina Herrera entered the perfume arena. Herrera For Men soon followed in 1991. Carolina Herrera fragrances come courtesy of collaborations with perfumers such as Jacques Cavallier, Alberto Morillas, Ann Gottlieb and more. Carolina Herrera received the coveted Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Fashion Designers in America in 2008, as well as Spain’s Gold Medal for Merit in the Fine Arts presented to her by the king of Spain in 2002. In 2014, Herrera was awarded the Couture Council Award for the Artistry of Fashion.