New York ? You know you’ve made it when you are granted one-name status by your fans: Think of music maniacs and their Britney, movie buffs and their Gwyneth.

Fashion designer Carolina Herrera has joined the club.

At the most recent Fashion Week in New York, the retail buyers and fashion editors who filled the front rows talked about Carolina’s sophisticated-yet-sexy styles, Carolina’s consistent collections and, for spring, Carolina’s tiger gown and other dressed-up safari gear.

Other designers who are known by their first names are Tommy (Hilfiger), Ralph (Lauren), Calvin (Klein) and Donna (Karan). Not bad company for the Venezuelan-born Herrera, who came from a long line of landowners and statesmen but had no formal fashion training other than attending European shows with her grandmother.

She moved to New York in 1981 to launch her collection that has become a staple in better department stores and she opened a U.S. flagship on Manhattan’s Madison Avenue in 2000. Her brand has grown to include several fragrances and a second, more affordable clothing line, CH, which gets its first U.S. store in Coral Gables, Fla., this fall.

Herrera says she’s survived two decades in the fashion industry and reached the top because she believes in making clothes for real people. But, that said, she also believes fashion is part of everyday life because people do pay attention to what they look like.

“Fashion isn’t only for certain occasions. You do it every day whether you care about it or not. … Every time you say, ‘What should I wear?’ that’s fashion again,” says Herrera.

On this day, and on many others, Herrera is dressed tastefully and simply in a black wrap blouse, a slim-cut skirt and high heels. She dresses appropriately for her simultaneous roles of fashion designer and grandmother of four.

“I like women to look sophisticated, dressed for the moment we live in, for the right occasion,” Herrera says. “I don’t like trendy uniforms.”

Herrera recently auctioned off some of the designs in her archives for charity but she says she hasn’t gotten into the vintage craze. “There are so many new things still left to try. I don’t want to go backward.”

Fashion designer Carolina Herrera steps out on the runway after showing her Spring 2003 collection in New York.

When a reporter points out that the world of designer-level womenswear seems to be dominated by men, Herrera counters with famous female designers of yesterday, including Coco Chanel and Nina Ricci.

“Maybe right now women are just more interested in other things, in banking and politics,” she says.

Herrera also says gender has nothing to do with being a good fashion designer, whether it’s men’s or women’s clothing. “Anyone with the talent can do it. And you need luck.”

She adds: “Luck is a big part of it because there are many talented people who don’t get recognized.”

One of her tips to young, talented designers is to keep their noses out of the business side of fashion. “Creativity and business don’t mix. It’s hard to be creative when you’re taking care of numbers.”

Herrera says her designs tend to be a little on the extravagant side “We women like this.” Her newest collection, in stores this spring, is diaphanous and light, exotic but not ethnic, she describes. The palette includes lime green, orange, mauve and brown, put into silhouettes such as camp shirts and floral-print dresses.