Carolina Herrera: Social Media Influencers Have No Style

Iconic Venezuelan designer Carolina Herrera has had her hand in the fashion industry since the 1960s, dovetailing into her own high-end eponymous line in the ‘80s. Although she stepped down as lead designer in 2018, she now continues to represent the label as global brand ambassador. Hence, her recent conversation with fashion businesswoman Carmen Busquets at the Latin American Fashion Summit. During the discussion, the two ladies candidly spoke about how runway shows have evolved and the importance (or lack thereof) of influencers.

When Busquets, who is also Venezuelan, asked the 80-year-old designer her opinion on social media influencers, Herrera responded with a hearty, “That’s what I wanted to ask you!”

She continued, according to La Vanguardia: “Influencers appear to be very important. I don’t understand it much,” Herrera said. “They aren’t fashion’s style. They’re money’s style.”

Herrera describes style as “something each person holds inside … not what you have on. It’s much more than that.”

Her opinion on the matter was solidified sometime this year at an unidentified fashion show. Recalling the 10 a.m. pasarela, Herrera joked about a “row of girls” who were dressed in evening gowns.

“They don’t have their own style. They wear what they’re given,” she said, as the live audience in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia agreed.

Their applause and cheers further encouraged Herrera, who closed her response with advice for designers.

“Just because an influencer likes it and a few people see it on [social media] doesn’t mean you have great success. You have to see [how many] normal women are buying it,” she asserted.

All in all, the Best Dressed Hall of Fame inductee said she misses the ‘80s, which she referred to as a simpler, less spectacle-oriented and more garment-focused time.

“Things are very different nowadays,” she said. “Everything changes.”