Carolina Herrera Revisits (and Revises) Her 1981 Interview with André Leon Talley

In the summer of 1981, not long after Carolina Herrera debuted the inaugural collection of her eponymous fashion line at New York City’s Metropolitan Club, she and her husband, Reinaldo, sat down with André Leon Talley for this magazine’s July issue. Mrs. Herrera confessed to traveling with between a dozen and 15 pieces of luggage; said that when she visited Reinaldo’s mother’s house in Venezuela, her exercise besides tennis, riding, and swimming consisted of walking among the mansion’s 65 rooms; and revealed that all her lingerie was couture, made especially for her in her native Caracas. Now 82, Carolina Herrera revisits (and revises) parts of that conversation.

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“I don’t travel with a lot of luggage anymore. It is too complicated because you don’t find anyone to carry it. My philosophy now is to travel very, very light. I still use my same luggage and I won’t change it.”

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“For me a very good exercise is to walk an hour every day, preferably in beautiful Central Park. It’s also good for your mind.”  

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“I came to the conclusion that the size of the closet is not important, and what really counts is what is inside. I save my favorite dresses because I always end up wearing them again and again and again.”

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“If I had to choose one style icon today, it would be the Queen of England because through all these years, she’s always looked impeccable.”

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“I’ve never liked trends because everybody looks the same. You have to have some imagination to look different.”

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“I always feel the same way about the sleeves framing your face. But today, there are other things they want to show that’s not the face.”

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“My eating habits are more or less the same. But if I find a box of chocolates, I will eat it all easily if I’m not careful.” 

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“Colors are very important in fashion. I’ve always liked yellow because it’s the color of the sun and it makes you happy.”

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“I feel that nothing is perfect, and that you have to make an effort to make it almost perfect. Perfection does not exist.”

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“Posture is always very important because it makes you look younger.”

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“I always love jewelry; but you have to be careful of how to wear it, and not to look like a Christmas tree with everything on.” 

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“I love flowers. I love Peonies, Lilacs, Roses, Sweet Peas and fields of Daffodils and Bluebells. I live with flowers in my house, not for a special occasion, but for my husband’s and my everyday life.”

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“I think that I have proven myself by being a designer because it’s been 40 years, and it’s still going on now with Wes Gordon doing a fabulous job.”

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“I never get bored. And now, I think life is not too short. It is too long to be bored.”

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“I am still very superstitious, that’s why I’m not going to talk about it.”