Color Theory
Review of Carolina Herrera Spring 2025 Fashion Show
By Mark Wittmer
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
Restraint. Beauty. Color.
Wes Gordon’s Spring 2025 collection for Carolina Herrera – his fifteenth for the brand – was a masterclass in elegant restraint. The creative director pulled back on overt color (the first half of the collection was entirely black and white) and showy statements to create moments of true impact, creating a potent new statement of the brand’s signature alluring feminine power.
As Gordon pointed out in our interview after the show, black and white are indeed colors – some of the most dramatic colors. The first half of the collection used this graphic contrast for singularly bold looks, but he also impressively managed to balance it with a traditional perspective of delicate femininity, tapping once again into the visual theme of the rose but focusing on just one element. As he explains, “if I was doing this gorgeous draped rosette on a shoulder, the piece didn’t need to be pink as well. Let pink be the statement, let the shoulder be the statement, but give it that one thing to shine and be the exclamation point.”
When that pink exclamation point finally did come, it seemed to blossom out of the graphical boldness of the black-and-white sections. As if the visual palette was cleansed, we had a new understanding of the colors’ emotional significance as they stood out from the graphic shadows of before.
THE DIRECTION
THE QUOTE
In the quest to make clothes that didn’t feel too tricky, sometimes it meant taking away the color. I was really working to get at the essence of something sculptural and pure, but also feminine. My goal throughout was to create pieces that stunned.”
THE WRAP UP
Gordon’s confident understanding of the Carolina Herrera archive only continues to build, and it’s been exciting to see the brand blossom under his guidance. This collection was a uniquely focused affirmation of his vision, editing things down to investigate a core principle of Carolina Herrera: dressing a woman so that when she walks into the room, no matter what color she’s wearing, to create an instantly recognizable sense of wow.
