The Couture Council of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology presented Herrera with the 2014 Award for Artistry of Fashion during a luncheon at New York’s Lincoln Center.

Herrera, 75, shared a table with old friends, including fellow superstar designers Oscar de la Renta and Ralph Lauren.

“This is not just another honor,” she told Efe, adding that she was as proud of her friendships in the industry as of her personal accomplishments.

The Fashion Institute of Technology’s president, Joyce F. Brown, pointed out in her remarks at the luncheon that Herrera was 40 “when she re-invented herself as a fashion designer.”

“Like Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel, Carolina Herrera became famous for creating the kind of elegant, beautiful clothes that she herself wears. Mrs. Herrera is her own best model, and many women today want to look like her,” Valerie Steele, director of The Museum at FIT, said.

Herrera will be presenting her latest collection at New York Fashion Week, which gets under way Thursday.