Carolina Herrera
Carolina Herrera (born María Carolina Josefina Pacanins y Niño; 8 January 1939[2]) is a Venezuelan fashion designer[3] known for her personal style,[4] and for dressing various First Ladies of the United States, including Jacqueline Onassis, Laura Bush, Michelle Obama, and Melania Trump.[5][6]
For the Venezuelan beauty pageant winner and actress, see Astrid Carolina Herrera.Early life[edit]
María Carolina Josefina Pacanins y Niño[1] was born on 8 January 1939, in Caracas, Venezuela,[2] to Guillermo Pacanins Acevedo, an air force officer and former governor of Caracas,[7] and María Cristina Niño Passios.[8] Her socialite grandmother introduced her to the world of fashion, taking young Carolina to shows by Balenciaga and buying her outfits at Lanvin and Dior. She has said, "My eye was accustomed to seeing pretty things."[9]
Early career[edit]
In 1965, Herrera began her career working as a publicist for Emilio Pucci, a Florentine Marquis himself and a close family friend. She began working at Pucci's Caracas boutique, and moved to New York in 1980.[10] Frequently associating with Mick and Bianca Jagger and Andy Warhol, at Studio 54, she became well known for her dramatic style. She first appeared on the International Best Dressed List in 1972, then was elected to its Hall of Fame in 1980.[9]
Company type
1980
Carolina Herrera
In 2008, Herrera was awarded the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award[42] from the Council of Fashion Designers of America,[43] and "Womenswear Designer of the Year" in 2004. 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.[44] She was awarded the Gold Medal of the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute in 1997.[45]
She received the Fashion Group International Superstar Award,[46] the Style Awards Designer of the Year in 2012[47] and the "Mercedes-Benz Presents" title for her 2011 collection.[48] She has been on the cover of Vogue seven times.[43]
In 2005, she received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement during the International Achievement Summit in New York City.[49][50]
In 2014, she earned the 2014 Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion.[51]
In 1957, at the age of 18, Herrera married Guillermo Behrens Tello, a Venezuelan landowner.[52] Before their eventual divorce in 1964, they became the parents of two daughters:[53]
In 1968, in Caracas, she married Reinaldo Herrera Guevara, who had inherited the Spanish title The 5th Marquis of Torre Casa in 1962 upon his father's death.[56][57][58] Reinaldo was the host of Buenos Días, a Venezuelan morning-television news program and the elder son of Don Reinaldo Herrera Uslar, 4th Marquis of Torre Casa, a prominent Venezuelan sugarcane plantation owner, aristocrat, and art collector.[57] Therefore, by marriage, Carolina held the title The Marquise consort of Torre Casa, until it was retracted in 1992, as Reinaldo had issued no son.[59] Her husband is a special-projects editor of Vanity Fair magazine.[8] Together, they have two daughters, and six grandchildren, including:[9]
In 2009, Herrera became a naturalized United States citizen.[3]