Never one to back down to a challenge, the always effortless, always elegant Carolina Herrera tackled two solid statements for spring: an Asian motif, primarily Korean, that was realized by intricate fabric folds, a symbolic bird print and traditional knotted belts, and 18th century botanical plates. Say what? Yet it all worked harmoniously in what was one of the designer’s best collections in many seasons. As Cathy Horyn put it best, these clothes are designed for women like Mrs. Herrera–those who don’t break a sweat and who have the posture of a coat rack. Indeed it was a gorgeous exercise in precision. From the sharp color palette of magentas and emerald greens in evening to signature crisp white blouses and pencil skirts that are the uniform de rigueur for the designer herself, there was something here for everybody. In evening was where she really flourished. If the finale gown with its endless yards of porcelain-embroidered floral jacquard was too devastatingly beautiful to behold, then the simple slim-cut cocktail dress in bold tangerine oughta do the trick.
I loved the richness of the collection as a whole. My favorite part was the botanical prints. I don’t know why critics didn’t love the botanical theme more.
But, I have to call her out on her gold-metallic print dresses (Oscar de la Renta did something very similar few seasons ago) and those graduated print dresses have been done so many times in the recent past (from Tracey Feith to Prada and Valentino) that I feel her interpretation was not fresh enough.