How Wes Gordon's Respect for Carolina Herrera Made Her Departure a Success

Wes Gordon's eight-year run at Carolina Herrera is often looked at as one of the most successful succession stories in fashion, an industry rife with designer turnover where founder exits can get ugly. Speaking over Zoom ahead of the house's Spring/Summer 2027 runway show at New York Fashion Week on Monday, Gordon often returns to a word that helps to explain why: respect. "Respect was very much my priority, not just for the house, but also for Carolina as a person. I worked to earn her trust and was very mindful to make decisions that she wouldn't be strongly opposed to," says Gordon about his first year consulting for the brand. He became its creative director in 2018, when the eponymous founder Carolina Herrera retired. Now, she sits front row at the show every season, taking in Gordon's collections for the house she founded in 1981. This year, the brand is celebrating 45 years in business - a significant milestone for a New York fashion house, and Gordon points out that there are fewer American designer brands still going after their founder's departure than in Europe.