Karlie Kloss
If you thought the previously shuttered Mortimer’s restaurant on Lexington Avenue had magically reopened this week, you’d be partially correct. The famed Upper East Side institution was rebranded as Herrera’s—red neon signs and all—to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Carolina Herrera’s iconic fashion label. Held shortly after creative director Wes Gordon’s tulip-filled spring 2027 show, the occasion was filled with fanfare that flowed onto the outdoor patio and front sidewalk.
Despite showing his latest collection hours earlier, Gordon was refreshed and in high spirits. Holding court in the restaurant’s plush corner booth with Karlie Kloss and Aerin Lauder, he shared with Vogue how the establishment was always a favorite of Mrs. Herrera’s. With black and white balloons covering the ceiling, dark red flowers blooming around the venue, and silver streamers gleaming in the candlelight, the soirée certainly paid homage to the label’s sophisticated uptown DNA.
Gordon was joined by longtime Herrera muse Kloss, who closed the aforementioned runway and just marked a decade as the face of the brand’s Good Girl fragrance line. Dressed in a classic white shirt, black skirt, and matching pumps—a nod to Mrs. Herrera’s signature ensemble—Kloss also had the honor of blowing the candles out on the label’s 45th anniversary cake.
While reminiscing on her deep ties to the house, the model and Bedford Media CEO recalled her first-ever New York Fashion Week show walking for Mrs. Herrera’s spring 2010 collection. The brand’s elegance, love of pure beauty, and empowering female-founded roots, Kloss said, are what has made it a success story in the fashion world over the last 45 years.
Elsewhere, guests mingled with lime margaritas and Champagne to beats by Isabella Massenet. Waiters milled about with trays of French fries, cheeseburgers, and miniature black-and-white cookies, enjoyed by attendees like Natalia Dyer, Ivy Getty, Lux Pascal, Becky G, and Sammy Ratelle. Many posed for photos against the custom illustrated black and white wallpaper of Herrera surrounded by New York City figures, including Vogue’s Anna Wintour.
Everyone also took the chance to line up for colorful sketches as a party souvenir, outfitted in their most vibrant Herrera dresses and jackets. When celebrating such a lasting accomplishment, it wouldn’t have been fitting to wear anything else.
