Bri Nitsberg | Managing Photo Editor
Hems, humor, and Herrera. Those were the three H’s of the Saint Louis Fashion Fund’s (SLFF) annual Speaking of Fashion event, which was held on Nov. 18 in Graham Chapel. The event, coordinated in partnership with WashU and St. Louis-based footwear company Caleres, hosted Carolina Herrera Creative Director Wes Gordon as its featured speaker.
SLFF was founded in 2014 with the intention of supporting emerging designers, promoting fashion education and outreach, and reinstating St. Louis as a fashion hub in the United States. SLFF has been holding its Speaking of Fashion series, which brings global fashion icons to St. Louis, for over a decade.
“I wouldn’t miss [Speaking of Fashion] for the world,” Gordon said. “I love the opportunity to interact with students. This is a great event. It’s known throughout the country; it has an incredible reputation.”
The event began with remarks from the two co-hosts, Susan Sherman, SLFF co-founder, and Stephanie Martin, wife of Chancellor Andrew D. Martin. In her speech, Martin told the audience that tickets for the event had sold out in just 16 minutes.
Within the first 10 minutes of the event, two surprises were announced. Firstly, Sherman shared that supermodel Karlie Kloss, a St. Louis native and friend of Wes Gordon’s, had flown in to attend the program. This prompted Kloss to stand from her seat in the front and wave to the crowd, causing a roar of applause and excitement from both the audience and Gordon.
The next announcement came from St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer, who officially proclaimed Nov. 18 to be Wes Gordon Day in St. Louis. The official proclamation was thereafter displayed on the stage for everyone, including Gordon himself, to see for the first time.
At last, it came time for Gordon and his interviewer, fashion journalist Derek Blasberg, to take the stage. Blasberg started the interview by stating that it was Gordon’s first time in St. Louis, to which Gordon responded, “My first time, but not my last.”
Blasberg began by asking Gordon about his childhood in Atlanta, prompting Gordon to share an adorable anecdote about his habit of showing up to kindergarten in red suspenders and blue suede shoes. Gordon went on to discuss how his love for fashion grew throughout his adolescence, motivating him to study fashion at Central Saint Martins, a constituent college of the University of the Arts London.
Later, Gordon detailed his time as a young fashion designer in New York, working for designers like Oscar de la Renta and Tom Ford, while simultaneously designing his own capsule line, to becoming the creative director at Carolina Herrera in 2017.
Since his appointment, Gordon has cultivated over 20 collections for Carolina Herrera, adding that Herrera herself does not see a new line until it hits the runway. He also shared that he and Herrera make sure to get brunch at least once a month.
“Carolina Herrera is in hot pink when everyone else is wearing brown,” Gordon said of the Carolina Herrera woman. “She goes to a party and stands in the middle of the room. She’s the one people are talking about the next day.”
If Gordon’s interview were to be characterized with one word, it would be wholesome. Not only did Gordon have nothing but praise for his predecessor, Mrs. Carolina Herrera herself, but he repeatedly spoke directly to the fashion students in the room, giving them words of encouragement and advice as they prepared to enter the fashion industry.
“Even though I’m still figuring things out on my own, if there’s an opportunity for me to be helpful to young students, I’m happy to try,” he said.
Throughout his talk, Gordon constantly made the audience laugh and elicited several rounds of applause in response to his profound statements. One of the loudest cheers came after he urged students to “not do things the way they’ve been done” in the fashion industry.
The evening concluded with one final surprise: Gordon was awarded the St. Louis Fashion Fund Award, which is given to people who have made significant contributions to the fashion community. Gordon will remain in St. Louis until Nov. 19 to attend a trunk show at Neiman Marcus.
“I get inspiration from so many different places, but my greatest source [is] the women who wear Carolina Herrera,” Gordon said. “I’m lucky to travel all around the world, and I interact with our clients everywhere, and I’m doing it tomorrow in St. Louis, and I learn so much from them and what they’re looking for and how they’re getting dressed and how they feel.”
