The Plaza Mayor of Madrid, the place where he was held on Thursday, was more than a stage. Not only because of the dimensions of an unusual presentation in the capital, which has gathered 800 guests – 150 of them international – and has seated artists like Sebastián Yatra, Becky G, Tokischa or, it girls Primalcenias such as Olivia Palermo and Alexa Chung, models such as Vittoria Ceretti and Karolina Kourkova, actresses such as O Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, filmmakers such as Pedro Almodóvar, the mayor of Madrid and a large representation of the show, to the new celebrities of social networks. In the square, the clients of the bars of the supports, open during the parade, curiously contemplated the very long catwalk – almost a linear kilometer – pale pink and the usual bustle in the fashion parades.
The show was on and off the catwalk, both for a euphoric soundtrack with hymns and Fotonovela From Ivan, How could you do this to me, from Alaska and Dinarama, or Do not control, Olé Olé, as by the clothes presented. The spring-summer 2026 collection of the New York firm is traveled by a very Madrid iconography. On the eve of the parade, the creative director of the brand, he told this newspaper that he knows very well the Spanish capital since his time as a student and, perhaps, his new collection is especially voluminous, with 77 looks that make her the longest of her career.
In fact, the first model to step on the pale pink catwalk, the Spanish, did it with a theatrical black dress inspired by the courtly portraits of the seventeenth century. “I wanted the first look It was black, because it is not what people expect from me, and also because it reminds me of the meadow, ”says the designer.
When the American was appointed creative director in 2018, the New York house owned by Puig already had its own history, marked by the personality of its founder and by some style icons. But, since the arrival of Gordon, Carolina Herrera has defined its codes and polished its own language that is explained without the need for dimensions. “I wanted to play with mixtures of violet and yellow or red and fuchsia,” says the designer, known for her use of colors and a certain air of theatricality that translates into imposing dresses, generous volumes and vaporous tissues, some star garments – like the everlasting white shirt – and a handful of immediately recognizable prints.
This helps that, throughout these years, the firm’s beauty division, led by Carolina A. Herrera, daughter of the founder and with experience in the, has insisted on those same codes through its makeup and fragrance collections. Not in vain the parade coincides with the launch of the new perfume of the house, the bomb, a celebration of the spontaneity and enthusiasm that speaks of the Latin roots of the house.
The Madrid that Wes Gordon has portrayed has some of all that: costumbrismo, baroque, pop heterodoxy and a good dose of spree. That is why the collection, the first season that the firm presents outside the New York calendar – their recent parades in Brazil and Mexico were Resort collections, smaller and destined for emerging markets – presents an unusual iconographic saturation. There are winks to the flowers of Madrid: roses stamped in gauze dresses, embroidery and violets recreated with three -dimensional embroidery. “The is my favorite time in Madrid,” explains the designer. The soundtrack gave faith. Also their tributes to the eighties, especially to the Almodóvar de Women on the edge of a nervous attack, that allow you to experiment with graphic line jacket costumes, pictures of pictures and saturated colors.
Since he began to celebrate parades outside his usual locations, Carolina Herrera also drew guidelines for these projects to go beyond the rental of a space. For example, work with local models. Esther Cañadas, Marina Pérez, Blanca Padilla, Rolf, Mayka Merino, Julia Pacha, Africa Peñalver or Neus Bermejo participated in the parade. In addition, the designs also included, in the central part of the presentation, several collaborations with local firms linked to crafts and accessories. For example, three versions of the famous dressed in invisible thread that Sybilla popularized in the nineties, and Castilian layers of the veteran Seseña house. “Carolina and they have always been very fond of these layers, and I was fascinated to discover that this centennial house makes them,” says Gordon.
There are also different variations of the white shirt, the most emblematic garment of the house, reimaginated by Palomo Spain with ornaments and modiatist details. “The white shirt is the garment that I like to design the most,” explains the Cordoba, “when this proposal came from Carolina Herrera I thought about the Prado and my previous collections, and I have been able to work with total freedom.”
There is a clarity of remarkable ideas in the work of Wes Gordon, whose land is not so much the everyday as the impact garments, especially long and short dresses, of lace and with embroidery, striking prints, marked line costumes, flyers, flowers and moles. On this occasion the firm has also developed several models of own bags, which is another novelty, since they are usually the responsibility of CH Carolina Herrera, the fashion firm that the Galician company Stl manufactures under license. These new bags have architectural forms that remind the loop or fan, and affect the language of the house.
The Carolina Herrera that has paraded in Madrid is the brand of ready to wear that has its headquarters and workshop in New York and competes in qualities, prices and media impact with the first division of luxury. Its points of sale is reduced, but its imaginary marks the passage to the rest of the brands and divisions of the brand.
After the parade, concluded with the soundtrack of Because you’re leaving, From Jeanette, a party at the Casino de Madrid recalled that the city is not only known for its museums, but also for its nightlife. That is why Carolina Herrera’s parade, broadcast live through a screen in Callao, realizes a very concrete Madrid: that of sophisticated chasticism that seduces a new international community attracted to a city whose real estate market does not stop going crazy but whose restaurants never close. In fact, the hospitality establishments of the square have remained open during the parade, with their clients following the event from the terraces, just like the neighbors who watched it from the fences. An image that may explain, better than any other, why Carolina Herrera has chosen Madrid to celebrate an unprecedented event in the capital.
