5 Reasons Why Wes Gordon Is a Force of Fashion
“A part of me is a sucker for drama, grandeur, and classic elegance,” Wes Gordon told Vogue in 2013. “But at the same time, I’m 26, I live on the Bowery, I’m part of a different generation.” It’s that dichotomy that makes Gordon, now 32 and creative director of Carolina Herrera (that penchant for drama, grandeur, and classic elegance came in handy) so perfect for this year’s Forces of Fashion conference in New York. He doesn’t just have the gig because of his considerable talents, but because he represents a whole new way of being in the fashion industry.
For when he talks about drama, it’s not his personality he’s referring to. Instead, Gordon has long prioritized kindness, calmness, and an absolute lack of self-centeredness as a designer, qualities that are crucial when you’re taking on a house that’s undergoing such profound change, and you’re expected to lead and inspire its accomplished and close-knit ateliers. (Though let’s be honest: That’s a trio of values that we could all do with more of in fashion nowadays. Okay, more than fashion: everywhere.)
Essentially, Gordon remains the same down to earth and humorously self-deprecating young man who first visited Vogue in 2009, fresh off of stints at Oscar de la Renta and Tom Ford, as charming as both and becoming equally adept at doing big night dressing brilliantly—remember Lena Waithe in his rainbow cape of many colors at the 2018 Met Gala?
Here, five moments which underscore why Gordon is an absolute Force of Fashion.
He has always known exactly who he is (and is funny about it)
“I was wearing slippers and carrying a pipe at age five”
He has no interest in fashion being about exclusion
“Whether she’s young or old, Madison Avenue or [the] Lower East Side, every woman wants to look...pulled together. [My] pieces are feminine but a bit slick. Any woman can find something to fall in love with.”
He sees the best in things—particularly inAmerican fashion
“Everyone right now is dissecting what American fashion should be. I think a part of that—that America has the potential to do so well—is to take the fantasy and the glamour, and marry them with the everyday. In a way that’s still enticing and exciting and wonderful.”
He understands that sometimes the coolest thing to do...is not to try to be cool
“I think being wonderfully elegant is kind of daring sometimes. There’s this misconception that elegance has to be stuffy, but it’s often more irreverent and witty. I like to keep that in mind.”
He likes to keep the mood upbeat
“I am adamant about happy color. I want to put an exclamation point after that, underline it, circle it, and highlight it. There’s a new wave of chaos every day, [my] clothes are... a bit of a rainbow.”
Wes Gordon is a speaker at Vogue’s 2019 Forces of Fashion conference on October 10 and 11 in New York City; learn more and buy tickets here.
Originally Appeared on Vogue
