The Savannah College of Art and Design celebrate the 35-year reign of the storied House of Herrera

  |   17-05-2016

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The SCAD Museum of Art and SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film present the retrospective exhibition, “Refined Irreverence,” in celebration of Herrera’s achievements and the 35th anniversary of the House of Herrera.

The Savannah College of Art and Design will honour and celebrate the 35-year reign of the storied House of Herrera with an expansive dual museum exhibition of Herrera’s designs. “Refined Irreverence” opens simultaneously on Friday, May 20, 2016 at SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film in Atlanta and at the SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah until September 25, 2016.  This will be SCAD’s first concurrent show at both since 2011.

The exhibition is curated by Rafael Gomes, SCAD director of fashion exhibitions, and includes over 75 garments, both new and vintage Herrera designs, from her 1981 inaugural collection to the present. The sweeping presentation will include runway looks, bridal collections, red carpet gowns worn by Michelle Obama, Taylor Swift, Tina Fey, Renée Zellweger and Lucy Liu, as well as works from Herrera’s personal collection. 

Carolina-Herrera-1981

[Image: Carolina Herrera in 1981.]

SCAD President and Founder Paula Wallace said: “It is a great privilege to fête 35 years of Carolina Herrera’s timeless elegance, and to engage SCAD students with a designer par excellence. Her artistry reflects a refined sensibility that is at once classic and modern. Every woman who wears her designs feels exactly as Carolina intends: beautiful.”

The SCAD Étoile Award honours past and present outstanding achievements in style and design. Herrera joins previous SCAD Étoile Award honourees, including Pierre Cardin, David Yurman, Catherine Deneuve, Cornelia Guest, Russell Simmons, Dakota Jackson, Graydon Carter, Sir David Tang, Robin Givhan and Margaret Russell. Famed fashion designers, including Oscar de la Renta, Alexander Wang and others, have attended the annual SCAD fashion show each year. 

To date, SCAD has also honoured fashion industry titans Karl Lagerfeld, Tom Ford, Marc Jacobs, Diane von Furstenberg, Vera Wang, Francisco Costa, Manolo Blahnik, Miuccia Prada, Zac Posen and Vivienne Westwood during its annual signature fashion events and lecture series.

The university will also honour legendary fashion designer Carolina Herrera with the university’s prestigious Étoile Award at 2 p.m., Friday, May 20, 2016, at Arnold Hall Theatre, 1810 Bull St., in Savannah. The presentation is free and open to the public. SCAD fashion show will be held at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., Saturday, May 21, 2016, at Trustees Theatre, 216 E. Broughton St., in Savannah.

Carolina Herrera

 [Image: Illustration by David Downton, 2012. Image courtesy of the artist.]