Wes Gordon: «The future of Carolina Herrera»

«Fitting is an intimate moment. I remember the ones with the vice president Kamala Harris or Meghan Markle. There was a special feeling,» Wes Gordon told MFF. The meeting takes place in the Parisian hotel particulier which houses Carolina Herrera’s showroom, the label which is part of the Catalan giant Puig which the designer has been heading for about five years. Models go up and down the three floors of the 18th-century building across from the British Embassy, next door to Hermès and Roger Vivier. The atmosphere is one of a posh movie such as Indiscreet, with Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman.

Wes Gordon continues being the enfant gaté of Us fashion. Born in Chicago and raised in Atlanta, he worked with Oscar de la Renta and Tom Ford and, after graduating at Central Saint Martins in London in 2009, in the same year he launched his womenswear line carrying his own name. Department stores such as Harrods and Saks fifth avenue have stocked up on his models, followed by Bergdorf Goodman the following year. Katy Perry, January Jones, Lena Dunham, and Gwyneth Paltrow have all worn his clothes. Until he entered Carolina Herrera as Creative Director in 2018. He married Paul Arnhold in 2017 in an unforgettable ceremony in Las Vegas, and they have a child named Henry. The designer is the favorite of celebs and high society.

Today the front row of the runway is composed by upper crust yet inclusive clients, such as Maye Musk, veteran model and mom of the most eccentric billionaire in the world Elon Musk, the South-African scientist Kiara Nirghin, the drag queen Symone, the singer Ellie Goulding, and the actress Arden Cho. Meanwhile, Karlie Kloss remains the muse for beauty and perfume campaigns, in a floral suit such as in the final look of the latest runway (see MFF of September 13), inspired by The secret garden, a novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett which the designer has deeply loved in his childhood. Determined and kind, Wes Gordon has his mind set for the future of the maison.

After almost five years at the helm, how do you see the future of Carolina Herrera?

I believe Herrera has always been a synonym of elegance, and I think elegance means evolving and adapting yourself to women I know who are my age. Adapting it to 2023. At the beginning it is a delicate road to travel, especially in the case where the founder of the Maison sits in the front row at fashion shows. The designer is very active and watches us carefully, so I must be conscious, sincere, reverential but also experimental and try to find my own voice. And I think now, almost five years after I joined as Creative Director, I really feel at home…

What is your way of working?

My favorite way of working is in fitting, so on the models. We have two fittings a week and usually more if we are close to the show. Trying out looks on house models is my favorite part, where the design is transformed.

Your work is part of the large Spanish Group Puig, which owns brands from Jean Paul Gaultier to Paco Rabanne...

It is an honor and I feel very proud to be part of this family. They are affable and elegant people, and they really have a family spirit that is transmitted in the way they run the company.

Would you like to make costumes for movies or TV series?

I would love to. I worked for ZigZag at the American ballet theater (in 2021, ed.) but I would love to do a movie. A movie is like a fashion show, creating a world that did not exist before you created it. And that is why... we have to be a micro version of a director for those two days. We have to think about the make-up, the hair, the music, the experience, everything about the space. I think the most extravagant and decadent thing we do as humans is to create something that does not exist.

What are your favorite movies and songs?

My favorite movie is Being there with Peter Sellers. As for music, I love the energy, music that keeps you entertained. As for shows, for example, I would say Barbara Streisand. I like music that makes you smile.

What was one of your wowness moments?

During Covid-19, I had a fitting with Vice President Kamala Harris and Meghan Markle. They are extraordinary, powerful, and recognizable women, and you feel it as soon as you meet them. It was a very intimate experience, I feel very fortunate. They are very elegant women, and it was an honor to be with them in a room and have a conversation with them. After so many years I have the same excitement talking to Anna Wintour or Ms. Herrera.

Do you see Carolina Herrera? Does she give you advice?

When we see each other, we do not talk about work. Before Covid-19, we used to see each other twice a month. The last time I saw her was at the show. She is a woman people notice when she walks into a room.

When did you decide to become a designer?

All along. Long before I found out it was a job. I was obsessed with what I wore, what my mother wore. I loved movies for their costumes. I used to dress my mother's Barbies.

What was the first designer you can remember? Or the first fashion show you discovered?

Two in particular impressed me, Galliano for Dior and Valentino. Having grown up in America, then, the iconic American brands are De la Renta, Herrera, Calvin Klein.

Would you like to organize an exhibition on Carolina Herrera mixing her creations with the historical ones?

For the 40th anniversary I really looked a lot at the archives from the early days, and one thing that made me very proud was that some of the pieces from some of the shows could be on the runway today and vice versa. I think what I am doing now at Herrera's is in line with what she did in the early days in 1981. The years of Studio 54 and Bianca Jagger. We have a kind of iconography of style, like a white T-shirt that is there every season and lasts forever. (All rights reserved)