Carolina Herrera
Carolina Herrera | |
|---|---|
 Carolina Herrera Photo: Ed Kavishe, fashionwirepress | |
| Born | January 8, 1939 |
| Nationality | Venezuelan, American |
| Label(s) | Carolina Herrera New York CH Carolina Herrera |
| Spouse | Guillermo Behrens Tello (1957-64) Reinaldo Herrera Guevara (1968-present) |
| Children | Four |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Luxury Clothing |
| Founded | 1980 |
| Headquarters | New York City, New York, United States |
Key people | Carolina Herrera |
| Products | Clothes |
| Website | http://www.carolinaherrera.com |
Carolina Herrera (born María Carolina Josefina Pacanins y Niño (born January 8, 1939) is a Venezuelan and naturalized American fashion designer and entrepreneur who founded her eponymous company in 1980.
Early life
Herrera was born in Caracas, Venezuela, a daughter of Guillermo Pacanins Acevedo, an air-force officer who later became Governor of Caracas, and his wife, the former María Cristina Niño Passios.[1] Based in New York City since 1980, throughout the 1970s and 1980s she was named one of the best dressed women in the world. Her clients have included Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Renee Zellweger.
In 1957, Herrera married Guillermo Behrens Tello, a Venezuelan landowner, with whom she had two daughters, Mercedes and Ana Luisa.[2][3][4] They divorced in 1964.[citation needed]
In 1968, in Caracas, she married Reinaldo Herrera Guevara, the host of "Buenos Dias", a Venezuelan morning-television news program and the elder son of a prominent Venezuelan landowner and art collector; he is now a special-projects editor of Vanity Fair magazine.[1] Carolina and Reinaldo Herrera have two daughters, Carolina Adriana and Patricia Cristina.[5]
Awards/Achievements
Carolina Herrera is a recipient of The International Center in New York's Award of Excellence as well as Spain's Gold Medal for Merit in the Fine Arts, which was presented to her in 2002 by King Juan Carlos I.[6] She also was awarded the Gold Medal of the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute in 1997.[7]
The designer is a Goodwill Ambassador and Facilitator for IIMSAM -the Intergovernmental Institution for the use of Micro-algae Spirulina Against Malnutrition[8] and the organization's affirmative action programmes, The Right to Food Campaign Initiative Against Malnutrition and Fashion United Against Malnutrition. IIMSAM works to promote the use of micro-algae Spirulina (Spirulina Platensis) to eradicate malnutrition, achieve food security and bridge the health divide; and its programmes have a special priority for the Developing and Least Developed Countries (LDC).
Herrera won the "Womenswear Designer of the Year" in 2004 and the "Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award" in 2008—both from the Council of Fashion Designers of America, which directs her signature Carolina Herrera fashion and bridal collections, her slightly lower priced lifestyle collection CH Carolina Herrera, and ten fragrances.[9]
In 2009, Herrera became a naturalized American citizen.[10]
Herrera received the distinguished "Mercedes-Benz Presents" title for the season spring/summer 2011 collection. The award recognizes designers for their dedication to the use of quality materials, unique style and innovative design for the past seven years. The milestone comes not only as the designer's runway show debuts at the first ever Fashion Week held at Lincoln Center in New York City, but the opening of her highly anticipated CH Carolina Herrera store at 802 Madison Avenue with special guest illustrator Robert Risko, and the 10th anniversary of her Madison Avenue flagship store at 954 Madison Avenue.[11]
She has also been named the designer of fictional character Bella Swan's wedding dress for teen movie The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn part 1. The news was released after independent film studio Summit Entertainment, the creators of The Twilight Saga, based on American author Stephenie Meyer's books, tweeted 'On November 18, see Bella’s Carolina Herrera-designed wedding dress in #BreakingDawnPart1!'.
Company and expansion
There are six Carolina Herrera flagship boutiques in the world. They are in New York, Dallas, Los Angeles, Bal Harbor, Las Vegas and Caracas (as of October 12, 2011).
In 2008, Carolina Herrera launched a lifestyle brand called CH Carolina Herrera. In that year, the company opened four stores at The Galleria in Houston, Texas, Americana Manhasset, in Manhasset, New York, The Forum Shops at Caesars in Las Vegas, Nevada, and The Village of Merrick Park in Coral Gables, Florida. Currently, there are also boutiques in Boca Raton, Costa Mesa, Dallas, San Diego, and Scottsdale.
The company is expanding this lifestyle brand and anticipates to open a store on Madison Avenue in New York City in 2010 and in San Juan,Puerto Rico in October 2011.
References
- ^ a b "Reinaldo Herrera Weds in Caracas". The New York Times. 21 September 1968.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|url=(help) - ^ Latinas in the United States: A Historical Encyclopaedia, Volume 1, pages 325-326
- ^ "Ana Behrens-Pacanins Is Married To Luis Paraud-Carpena, Developer". The New York Times. 14 October 1989. Archived from the original on 2011-06-13.
- ^ Shapiro, Harriet (May 03, 1982). "From Venezuela to Seventh Avenue, Carolina Herrera's Fashions Cast a Long Shadow". People. Archived from the original on 2011-06-13.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Weddings/Celebrations: Patricia Herrera, Gerrit Lansing". The New York Times. 24 November 2002. Archived from the original on 2011-06-13.
- ^ "Madrid with Carolina Herrera". Travel+Leisure. October 2005. Archived from the original on 2011-06-13.
- ^ [1]
- ^ IIMSAM, the Intergovernmental Institution for the use of Micro-algae Spirulina Against Malnutrition
- ^ http://www.emercedesbenz.com/autos/mercedes-benz/corporate-news/mercedes-benz-presents-title-given-to-fashion-designer-carolina-herrera/
- ^ Leader, Romney (25 September 2009). "Carolina Herrera Makes It Official". Style.com. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Carolina Herrera Wins Fashion Week Award". Archived from the original on 2011-06-13.
External links
