Rubinfeld says that the brand benefits from being unified across its categories, including fashion, fragrance, makeup, eyewear, and handbags. All sit under Puig, so everything is in-house rather than licensed out. This creates a brand overseen in its entirety by herself and Gordon. It will all be on display at Monday’s show, which Rubinfeld sees as much a brand-awareness play as anything else.
Now, Carolina Herrera is focused more on building out its direct-to-consumer business, with stores opening in Houston, Texas; La Jolla, California; and Miami in the last few months. Dresses and occasionwear are the brand’s core business, but Rubinfeld says more effort is going into “dressing a woman from head to toe”, meaning separates, knits, and other lifestyle pieces are a priority to develop. It’s also putting more into its handbag business, after launching the category at the brand’s Madrid runway show last September.
Making a ladies-who-lunch brand with pretty dresses and eveningwear resonate with a younger consumer could mean quick Gen Z-minded pivots. But Herrera has become a cross-generational brand, dressing daughters, moms and grandmothers, by avoiding that impulse. “It could be trendy today and maybe not tomorrow, but we really stay focused on being authentic and true to the Carolina Herrera brand,” says Rubinfeld.
“I don’t really think about [generations],” Gordon adds. “I’m not really thinking when I look at the sketches, or I’m looking at the board, ‘Is there a dress here for a 20-year-old? A 30-year-old? A 40-year-old?’ That just sounds so boring and like trying to break things down to Excel sheet thinking, and it’s just not real.”
Wes Gordon’s debut show for Carolina Herrera Spring/Summer 2019.
Photo: Vogue Runway
Gordon says an obsession with understanding the Carolina Herrera client has guided him throughout the years. Trunk shows are a key business lever that the brand has always relied on to spend time with them in person. “One of my favorite things to do is travel and do events and meet our clients all over the world. I learn so much from them,” Gordon says. “They’re so inspiring, and I genuinely have the desire to create pieces for any one of them, regardless of geography, size, or age; that’s something that they could come and find and fall in love with at the store. I want to make her happy, and it’s really a pleasure to get to do so.”
