Fashion girls, take notes. Caroline Vazzana, content creator and author of Making It In Manhattan, has added fashion designer to her extensive resume, which includes impressive roles at both Teen Vogue and InStyle. Her second collection with INSPR dropped last month and it’s gorgeous. From sparkle and ruffles galore, Caroline has her finger on the pulse of bold fashion. Her killer sense of style and unmatched confidence have deemed her a modern day Carrie Bradshaw. Caroline’s impressive career path is inspiration for anyone who wants to blaze their own trail in the fashion industry.
While Caroline has always had an interest in design, she soon realized that she wanted a more comprehensive knowledge of the fashion industry.
“In college I actually went to be a design major, but I think growing up a lot of times if you’re interested in fashion, at least back in pre-social media times for me, you only know about being a designer or a buyer,” Caroline shares. “I knew I wanted to be on the more creative end so I ultimately pursued design, but I soon realized after one sewing class that I didn’t really enjoy the technical aspects of it all, but I really enjoyed the creativity of it.”
After expanding her major to include both design and merchandising, Caroline was able to broaden her horizons to take more business classes. After graduation, she went on to work for Teen Vogue and InStyle, as well as pursued content creation, but she still dreamed of one day having her own collection. Last December, Caroline received a message from INSPR New York, with which she was familiar already because of their previous collaborations with content creators.
“Long story short, they approached me and asked ‘Hey, have you ever thought about having your own collection?’ and I was like, ‘Funny enough, I probably have been thinking about this since I was 14,’ so we started having meetings, chatting back and forth, and everything just ended up falling into place.”
Fast forward to today and Caroline has launched two collections with INSPR, each one a perfect capsule of Caroline’s eclectic style. She says “I wanted it to stay true to my eclectic colorful style, but I also wanted it to be wearable for the everyday person, because if it was me I’d be running around the streets in a tutu and sequined pants every single day.”
Caroline described creating these colorful collections, which are bold and unique without being daunting, as “taking my personal style that I’ve built over the years and developing that into something that’s wearable, shoppable, and that I think that people who are super eclectic like me can wear, but maybe also the person who’s just trying to experiment a little more with their wardrobe wouldn’t be too afraid or intimidated by the pieces and by the collection.”
The latest holiday collection includes a stunning array of festive styles, including Caroline’s favorite ‘Red is a Neutral’ t-shirt and the Mistletoe Dress — although she joked that it felt like picking a favorite child.
While fashion editorial is Caroline’s area of expertise, she credits her new role as a designer to skills she picked up at all of her previous jobs, saying: “I feel like anything you do in your career will ultimately lead you to where you are supposed to be now and impacts you in terms of creativity and in terms of shaping you as a human being.”
Her impressive career has been guided by her sense of creativity. “Where I shine and what I love in my career is being creative,” she shares. This sense of creativity extends into her personal wardrobe as well. Caroline’s bold street style has earned her a combined almost half of a million followers on Instagram and TikTok. But this carefully curated wardrobe and knack for styling didn’t come overnight.
Caroline, who cites Carrie Bradshaw as one of her inspirations, shares, “Growing up, I went to a school where I had to wear a uniform for most of my life, so when I discovered Carrie Bradshaw in 2010 I joked that my life was forever changed.”
The New York City it-girl is known for her eccentric style, but the key takeaway we can all learn from Miss Bradshaw is to carry oneself with confidence. Caroline perfectly states “If we can all take anything from her is to stay true to yourself and don’t care what others think. Fashion should be fun, it’s not that serious. [Bradshaw] is the queen of just strutting around in tutus and high heels and working it. We can all take a little bit of that from her and apply it to our everyday lives.”
If you’re looking to experiment with your personal style, take a cue from Caroline (and Carrie) and wear what makes you feel amazing. “If the past year has taught us anything it’s you only have so many situations to wear those sequin pants, you might as well wear them,” she shares. “Life’s too short to hide the fun clothes in the back of your closet, take them out, put them on. No one is really judging you or staring at you, and if they are, those are not the people you want in your life anyway.”
Whether it’s a feather boa, sequin tutu, or neon boots, if you have the confidence to believe that you’re the best dressed person in the room, others will too.