Herrera decodes a flower at NY Fashion Week

NEW YORK (AP) — It's not easy being Carolina Herrera after 34 years in fashion.

Coming up with something fresh to please customers while remaining loyal to her house this time around at New York Fashion Week had her turning to digital prints and foam geometric embellishments in colors fit for spring: reds in deep shades and bright neon, soft yellow and neutrals in a light mushroom tan.

"Fashion is all about newness. You come out with something new that you have to offer women who come to buy that are always asking what is new now. So you have to be able to show something new but in the same style of the house," Herrera explained in a backstage interview Monday before her runway show.

This season, she endeavored to decode flowers in different ways. She pixelated a large red one with leaves in foam pieces sewn to the long full gown of one of her final looks, pairing it with a stiff bright white bodice.

Elsewhere, she used splashes of beading. One in deep red covered the front of a loose skirt above the knee with more of the same beading at the collar of a matching, boxy shortsleeved top.

The technical fabrics allowed her to mold some collars high off the neck, including a sporty knit open jacket in neon orange paired with a roomy white jersey top and loose trousers.

Layers of chiffon overlaid at the shoulders and through some gowns might be problematic for some on a windy day. So might some of her open-backed tops in canvas and other fabrics.

Herrera called her mix of neutral color combinations and graphic floral prints "in a way very seductive and feminine."

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