Gabriela Hearst

Gabriela Hearst collaborated with Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura on the set design, inspired by Ricardo Bofill's utopian 'The City in Space’ (La Ciudad en el Espacio), and with Tricker's, one of the longest-established shoemakers in England founded in 1829, on the exclusive development of archival officer boots as well as a new brogue style made exclusively for the collaboration.

The scalloped details, which Aghion applied to a cotton piqué dress in her 1960 show at Brasserie Lipp appeared as top-stitching on georgette blouses, in leather petals or patchwork denim, as a quilting technique, and along the cuffs of knitwear.

The Broderie anglaise is transformed from classic to contemporary as a knitwear, and as a leather edge while the iconic Edith Bag has been reissued repurposing 50 vintage bags bought on eBay.

Hearst also collaborated with nonprofit founder Bass Timmer to create backpacks made from deadstock, whose sales will donate two Sheltersuits (a garment with a technical outer shell that can be turned into a sleeping bag) to homeless people.

Gabriela Hearst (née Perezutti), born November 3, 1976, in Paysandú Department, Uruguay, is a women's luxury ready-to-wear and accessories designer.

In addition to designing her namesake collection, she runs and operates her family's ranch in Uruguay.

Hearst grew up on her family's ranch in Paysandú Department, Uruguay which is around 400 km away from the capital city, Montevideo.

She attended The British School of Montevideo and graduated from Universidad ORT Uruguay with a B.A. in communications.

In her early 20s, after a short period in Paris, she moved to New York to study performing arts at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre.

In 2004, she started Candela in Brooklyn with $700.

The collection was made of T-shirts with silk-screened illustrations of a winged woman on top of a horse (based on a photo of her mother).

In 2006, the collection expanded to ready-to-wear and shoes.

After eleven years working in design, Hearst became a member of the CFDA in 2012.

In fall 2015, Hearst launched her eponymous label: Gabriela Hearst.

The brand has been compared as an American competitor to Hermès for its high-quality and fine use of garments.

In January 2016, Hearst was included in the "Ten of Tomorrow" by Women's Wear Daily (WWD).

The collections are characterized by quality craftsmanship, high-end and innovative materials, such as the anti-radiation fabric that shields against the radiation emitted by mobile phones—introduced in the Resort 2017 collection as lining for the jacket pockets —or the ultra-fine 14.5 micron merino wool and the aloe-treated linen introduced in the Resort 2018 collection, a sustainable and utilitarian process that instantly softens the linen and gives the fabric the property to moisturize the skin.

Also the production is very attentive to the environment and sustainability, including the use of wool coming from Hearst's sheep farm in Uruguay, an end-to-end production cycle that helps minimizing the environmental impact.

Hearst is also the first brand that make use of Tipa compostable bio-plastics for all their packaging —an Israeli startup that is developing a flexible alternative to plastic that can be thrown into compost to decompose in 24 weeks.

Her line's first bag was the Nina Bag (named after Nina Simone), which started as a limited edition of 20 that Hearst gave to women she admired—some of them high-profile like Miroslava Duma and Brie Larson —as well as to women she enjoyed collaborating with, such as the owner of the factory or the shoe developer.

The bag now has an extensive waiting list.

On September 9, 2017, Gabriela Hearst was added to the Business of Fashion BOF500 2017—the professional index of the people shaping the global fashion industry.

Since the fund creation in 2017, this investment is the first in a creative label.

In January 2021 Hearst designed the dress worn by First Lady Dr. Jill Biden for the 2021 presidential inauguration: an ivory dress representing the new administration's message of unity that was embroidered with each of the 50 state's flowers and that of D.C.

In December 2021 Hearst was nominated by the Financial Times as one of the 25 most influential women of the year.

In January 2023, the Gabriela Hearst ensemble worn by First Lady Dr. Jill Biden to the 2021 presidential inauguration evening celebration joined the Smithsonian's First Ladies Collection at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History's. The ensemble includes an ivory double-breasted cashmere coat, an ivory silk wool cady dress and face mask, with embroidery reflecting the federal flowers from every state and territory of the U.S. as a symbol of unity.

The Gabriela Hearst Autumn Winter 2023 show was inspired by Irish artist, architect and furniture designer Eileen Gray, who was a pioneer of the modernist movement that began in the 1920s.

On February 14, 2017, Gabriela Hearst presented its first runway show at the Refectory of the High Line Hotel.

The Angela Davis–inspired collection, while luxurious, had a non-wasteful approach.

The catwalk show was aimed at minimizing the environmental waste through a no-plastic policy, furnished with pews and chairs borrowed from her home and office.

Cashmere pillows for guests were knitted by the nonprofit organization Manos del Uruguay from excess yarn from her previous collection and seven sets of clothes were made with existing fabrics and materials.

With FW18 collection, Hearst became the first brand to introduce compostable bio-plastics for all their packaging.

A flexible alternative to plastic that can be thrown into compost to decompose in 24 weeks, developed by an Israel startup called TIPA Sustainable Packaging.

In January 2019, LVMH Luxury Ventures, the fund launched by French luxury giant LVMH to support "already iconic" emerging brands, invested in Gabriela Hearst, allowing the brand to expand their presence around the world.

In December 2020 Hearst was named Creative Director of Chloé, the luxury prêt-à-porter brand launched in 1952 by Gaby Aghion.

Gabriela Hearst is the first female designer with a multicultural heritage to both Uruguay and the United States to take the helm of a Paris fashion house.

For her debut collection at Chloé, Hearst paid homage to the founder of the maison, Gaby Aghion, in the year of the brand's centenary with a collection that focuses on sustainability.

For spring/summer 2020, Gabriela Hearst became the first brand to stage a carbon-neutral fashion.

In collaboration with Bureau Betak and EcoAct, an international advisory council that works with businesses to address sustainability challenges, Gabriela Hearst worked on reducing the carbon footprint of her show.

This has been possible by booking models that did not have to fly, using catering services that cook with local and seasonal food, and reducing all the appliances backstage.