What Is Carolina Herrera’s Net Worth?
Carolina Herrera is a Venezuelan-American fashion designer who has a net worth of $130 million. Carolina Herrera was featured on the International Best Dressed List for the first time in 1972, and she was inducted into its Hall of Fame eight years later. In the early ’80s, she launched her own clothing line and had her first runway show. Some of her most notable clients include former First Ladies Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Michelle Obama, Duchess Diana de Melo, and actress Renée Zellweger. Puig acquired Herrera’s business in 1995, and she stayed on as Creative Director. Her lines are carried in 280 stores in more than 100 countries. Carolina received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 2008, and she has been a member of its board since 1999. She has also served on jewelry designer Mimi So’s board of directors since 2004. Herrera has graced the cover of “Vogue” magazine seven times.
Early Life
Carolina Herrera was born María Carolina Josefina Pacanins y Niño on January 8, 1939, in Caracas, Venezuela. Herrera is the daughter of María Cristina Niño Passios and Guillermo Pacanins Acevedo, and her father served as an officer in the Air Force and the governor of Caracas. Her grandmother was a socialite, and she got Carolina interested in fashion by taking her to Balenciaga fashion shows and buying her clothing at Dior and Lanvin.
Career
After Herrera’s friend Diana Vreeland, the Editor-in-Chief of “Vogue,” urged her to design a clothing line, Carolina had samples made in her hometown. Her first collection debuted at Manhattan’s Metropolitan Club and was a hit. A popular Park Avenue boutique called Martha’s agreed to display Herrera’s clothing in its windows. In 1981, Carolina held her first runway show at the Metropolitan Club, and one of the models was Iman, who would go on to become a supermodel and marry David Bowie. That year, Herrera’s company earned recognition in publications such as “Tatler” and “Women’s Wear Daily.” Carolina showcases her Ready-to-Wear Collection at New York Fashion Week semiannually. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis recruited Herrera to design her daughter Caroline’s wedding gown, and Diana, Duchess of Cadaval, hired Carolina to design her dress for her wedding to Prince Charles-Philippe of Orléans, Duke of Anjou. In 1988, Puig, a Spanish fragrance company began licensing the Carolina Herrera name for a line of perfumes. In 1995, Puig acquired Carolina’s fashion business and kept her on as Creative Director. In 2018, Herrera handed the brand’s creative directorship to Wes Gordon. Carolina launched a scarf and leather goods line in the mid-1990s, and she later began selling optical frames and sunglasses.
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Personal Life
Carolina married Venezuelan landowner Guillermo Behrens Tello in 1957, when she was just 18 years old. They had daughters Mercedes and Ana Luisa together before divorcing in 1964. In 1968, Herrera wed Reinaldo Herrera Guevara, The 5th Marquis of Torre Casa. Upon their marriage, Carolina received the title The Marquise consort of Torre Casa, but the title was retracted in 1992 because the couple had not welcomed a son. Herrera and Guevara have two daughters, Carolina Adriana and Patricia Cristina. In addition to being The 5th Marquis of Torre Casa, Guevara has worked for “Vanity Fair” magazine as a special-projects editor. Carolina has been a naturalized U.S. citizen since 2009.
Recognition
The Council of Fashion Designers of America named Carolina Womenswear Designer of the Year in 2004 and honored her with the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008. She has received Spain’s Gold Medal for Merit in the Fine Arts and the Gold Medal of the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute, and she won the Award of Excellence from The International Center in New York. Herrera has won the Fashion Group International Superstar Award, and the Style Awards named her Designer of the Year in 2012. She was presented with the American Academy of Achievement’s Golden Plate Award in 2005, and she won the Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion in 2014.
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