The popular Venezuelan-born designer, Carolina Herrera, sent down her amazing spring 2012 collection at New York Fashion Week on September 12, 2011, offering a bit of elegance and femininity with flowing dresses, simple silhouettes and bare shoulders. She “provided springtime ease for the ladylike set” with her incredible show and managed to win a well-deserved place among the best collections, presented on the fifth day of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.
For the upcoming warm season, the renowned designer decided to stay true to the style elements that characterized her previous collections, without trying to bring a retro vibe: “It’s not Thirties”. She went on to explain that for this collection she has more opted for modern fashion elements and it’s Bauhaus that inspired her: “I love everything they did — in art, in fashion, in interiors, the colors.”
Far from the excessive detailing or too simple looks, Carolina Herrera has chosen the perfect middle, using the layering technique to get a more structured look. Diverging from the ever-present floral trend, Carolina has given preference to geometric vibes as a way to create some interest and emphasize the classy touches the elegant looks are endowed with. But the star pieces in the entire collection were the ones with small birds prints, pecking as patterns in grass green and canary yellow.
The ‘30s glamour, pussy bow blouses, long lengths and geometric prints are some of the characteristic features of the collection. Color-wise the designer has used lots of green tones, from emerald to lemon grass, also red, white, black and yellow tones. Famous for her white shirt, Carolina brought some impressive designs featuring this pure color, teaming it up with black and red. The most impressive looks to this end, were the simple, colorblocked pieces in black and white, tied together with a unique red patent leather belt.
For daytime wear, the designer offered elegant mid-length skirts and dresses, spiced up with stylish accessories, such as scarfs, belts, sunglasses or simple sandals with minimalistic designs.
As far as evening wear is concerned, Carolina used simplicity as the main concept, paying a great attention to subtle textural details and perfectly balanced proportions. With monochrome dresses being the epitome of elegance and sophistication, Carolina brought sleeveless or strapless body-skimming gowns in shimmering silver, eye-popping yellow or emerald green.
“I love the idea of elegance and intricacy, but whether it is in a piece of clothing or a fragrance, the intricacy must appear as simplicity,” the Venezuela-born Herrera has said.
Photo courtesy of WWD.com
