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The Many Elegant Dresses of Carolina Herrera’s Career

Photo: Gregory Harris

Thirty-five years ago, Carolina Herrera showed her very first collection at Manhattan’s Metropolitan Club. The fashion designer was famous for her elegant style years before Diana Vreeland, a close friend, suggested she open her own fashion house. Herrera made her official debut in 1981 and went on to dress Estée Lauder, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Michelle Obama.

The new book Carolina Herrera: 35 Years of Fashion, out earlier this month from Rizzoli, celebrates Herrera’s anniversary in the fashion industry and is the first collection to showcase her entire career. The tome traces her designs over the years, focusing on the sophisticated, feminine silhouettes and dresses Herrera is known for. Which makes sense — she grew up dress shopping with her grandmother at Balenciaga in Venezuela and sewing clothing for her dolls as a girl.

Click ahead to preview the book.  

Photo: Harris and Olins
Photo: Harris and Olins
Photo: Harris and Olins

Carolina Herrera 

Photo: Courtesy of Rizzoli
The Many Elegant Dresses of Carolina Herrera’s Career