Beauty as power above the Brooklyn Bridge

Just when you thought you were going to keel over from all the progressive indie brands making message collections, when along comes Wes Gordon with the classiest show in North America for the house of Carolina Herrera.

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Presented with the grandeur worthy of these clothes, the show was staged on the 41st floor of 180 Maiden Lane, a brand spanking new skyscraper on the banks of the East River.
 
Towering over the Brooklyn Bridge below, as this collection did compared to so many others in New York thanks to its polish, poise and panache.

What’s great about Gordon’s tenure at this house is how he totally respects its uptown DNA even as he gently pushes it into the future.
 
Gordon has always been a ruffle master, never more so than today, where he opened the action with a divine dimpled and pleated bias-cut silk skirt over slim pants – paired with a red knit roll neck top and lacquer red high heels. Patrician self-editing at its best. A later deep gorge blouse in large petals of anthracite silk looked almost organic, while his architectural meeting of pencil pants and undulating side ruffles was supremely assured.
 
Almost immediately, he sent out some stunning A-line ball gowns, in black and white silk faille. Hard to imagine a gal looking more refined than this. One sensed a designer pushing his craft making sure everything was perfect from the finish to the fit. 

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 All the way to veteran supermodel Caroline Trentini – in an incredible Imperial Roman purple gown made of four tiers of ruffled gazar printed in peonies and then hand-finished with super-sized fabric peonies. 
 
Made in a dramatic color statement, up there with the likes of Saint Laurent – with bold color blocking – like a fig purple merino turtleneck with slipper pink satin cummerbund and red satin shoes.
 
“An homage to the idea that beauty is strength and power and resilience. Beauty and power should never be thought of as opposites. I wanted every model as a goddess, but unabashedly feminine at the same time. A reverence for every pleat, gather and flower, which is a result of a lot of thought. A place where there is nothing superfluous,” Gordon told FashionNetwork.com post show.
 
Presented before a band of stars like Demi Moore, Diane Kruger, Avantika and Becky G and a small regiment of It Gals – from Harley Viera to Hannah Bronfman.
 
All told, a first-rate example of how to create a thoroughly well-produced show, with a French touch. From understated production by Bureau Betak and impeccable styling by Marie Chaix to a brilliantly majestic soundtrack by Frederic Sanchez that combined the brand’s sense of majesty with its roots in Latin America – Halo by Beyoncé combined with Tuya by Rosalía.
 
Unveiled before 360 views of the city – looking west to Brooklyn Heights; north to the United Nations; East to the Freedom Tower, and south to the Statue of Liberty. Capturing the energy, eternal optimism and self-confidence of New York. Herrera at its best.