Bidding farewell in classic style

Carolina Herrera has represented refined, elegant glamour for decades, so it was fitting that she invoked classic styles as she delivered her final New York Fashion Week collection as the designer of her self-titled line.

Monday’s event was held in an event space at the Museum of Modern Art — a fitting venue, given Herrera’s outsize contributions to contemporary fashion over her decades as a designer.

But her collection was timeless — not something that could be relegated to one era. In front of a crowd that included Karlie Kloss, Katie Holmes, Seth Meyers, Anna Wintour, Fran Lebowitz, Andre Leon Talley and fellow designer Calvin Klein, Herrera presented a collection that was both playful and conservative, bold and understated, colourful and muted — meaning she used her last show to feature the depth and versatility of her clothes.

The show, which had a retro jazz soundtrack heavy on Ella Fitzgerald, started out with the basics — a white top with flowing sleeves and black wide-legged pants” a long, billowing black coat” a white coat with a flash of leopard fur on the sleeves. It then segued into more glamorous fare — dresses that could be worn to a formal function, and those clearly designed for a red carpet, with bright pops of colour, including heavy doses of pink. There was a pink tuxedo outfit, a magical tulle pink and blue dress, and a black dress completely embellished with feathers that seemed to dance with the music.

There were several outfits that mimicked her own signature look — a crisp white collared shirt, coupled with a bold belt and equally bold colourful Aline skirts. Karlie Kloss and Derek Blasberg at the show. Nicky Palermo, Olivia in the Rothschild Hilton front row. Katie Holmes A model in a Carolina Herrera suit. A model displays a Carolina Herrera creation on the runway at the 2018 New York Fashion Week.