Flower power and strength bloom at Carolina Herrera NY Fashion Week show

“This season, more than ever I wanted it to be about beauty as power, power as beauty. Beauty is strength. You know, I wanted her to dress powerfully, and I wanted every look to be an embodiment of power,” said creative director Wes Gordon.

This year marks Gordon’s sixth year at the New York fashion house and explained that he has learned to trust his intuition.

“At the beginning it was, it was, you know, more of a challenge to try to reconcile and make sure that decisions were, was something she (Carolina Herrera) would maybe agree with or not.

But I've since learned that there may be things she doesn't agree with, but at the end of the day, I am seeking to address the same woman that she sought to dress. I'm chasing what elegance means today in the same way she chased that. So, the goals are the same, and beauty is kind of our ultimate, our ultimate goal,” he said.

The collection is filled with streamlined silhouettes that are both precise and clean, speaking to the clarity and focus of the modern woman. Ruffles take on a new architectural dimension adding dramatic flair while maintaining a sophisticated structure.

The line also featured new experiments in colour blocking, presenting strong and intriguing combinations that divide colours on the body in new ways.

This season’s primary motif came from a 19th gouache painting of a pink peony.

“I translated that onto our chiffons. You saw it with the yellow gown, small scale. A more realistic life-size peony scale on the fig purple gazar. And the slipper pink gazar, like on Irina Shayk’s gown.

And then also worked with our embroiderer to translate each brushstroke into threadwork. You saw that on like a tailored cape, on a ball skirt, on several looks throughout.”

Nearly 50 brands including Carolina Herrera, Tommy Hilfiger and Brandon Maxwell will showcase their collections during New York Fashion Week: The Shows, which runs until Wednesday.

Reuters