Carolina Herrera’s Wes Gordon Is Honored at The Museum at FIT’s Couture Council Luncheon

As far as ladies who lunch go, they love to wear Carolina Herrera. And if there’s an event that lures the ladies who lunch set year after year, it’s The Museum at FIT’s Couture Council Luncheon. So really, yesterday’s event felt like a harmonious one.

At Cipriani’s newest Wall Street outpost, the famed fashion school’s museum hosted its annual fundraising luncheon hosted in part by Nordstrom—the proceeds of which (this year, $700,000 was earned) go to the museum. Every year, a luminary in the design world is honored, and this time, that starry individual was Wes Gordon, Carolina Herrera’s creative director.

In attendance was a bevy of Carolina Herrera-clad guests (including Mrs. Herrera herself, but of course). There was Martha Stewart, Stacey Bendet Eisner, Georgina Bloomberg, Jacquelyn Jablonski, and more. As guests arrived at the brightly decorated space, its tables set with vibrant fuschia-colored dahlias, each one was treated to Cipriani’s famed buttery roll. Some tables were even arranged on the balcony to allow for open-air dining.

“His designs are filled with exuberance; don’t my sleeves make you happy?” said Dr. Joyce F. Brown, president of MFIT. She wore a cranberry-colored frock with double-flounced sleeves as she addressed the room from a podium and toasted the 40th anniversary of Carolina Herrera. Of the label’s current designer, she spoke about how his “vibrant, bold, and dramatic [designs] are themselves celebrations, filled with exuberance and joy.” And yes, her sleeves were as merry to admire as they must have been to wear.

It was supermodel Shanina Shai who presented Gordon with his award, which is shaped like a spool of thread. She wore a black mini-dress that shimmered with oversized paillettes on top and poufed with a voluminous bow on the bottom. “Every time I’ve worn Carolina Herrera, I’ve felt confident, beautiful, and of course fabulous!” she told the room.

Gordon accepted the award with a grace befitting the designs he imagines each season. “I dedicate this award to you,” he said to Mrs. Herrera. “I thank you for this most incredible opportunity. I am just the caretaker of the magical house you built, and every day in every way, I hope to make you proud. And to my amazing husband Paul, you have been my rock.”