Over the course of her career, Vera Wang grew a single bridal boutique into a fashion and lifestyle empire spanning a wide range of countries and product categories, from engagement rings and ready-to-wear to dinner plates and cosmetics. Prices range from luxury to mass market.
Wang cites her mother as her first fashion inspiration, and later spent her college summers working at a local Yves Saint Laurent store. After graduating from college, Wang was hired by Vogue as an explorer and quickly rose through the ranks, becoming one of the youngest fashion editors in the magazine’s history. Wang told BoF: It gives you an education like no other. If you believe it and want it, defend it to your boss, there’s nothing you can’t have. We had the best hair stylist, the best makeup artist, the best new photographer, and the best established photographer. ”
After being turned down for the editor-in-chief position, Wang quit Vogue and joined Ralph Lauren in 1987. Two years and 18 accessories lines later, Wang decided to start designing dresses with the image of a modern woman in mind while planning a wedding. In 1990, Wang opened a boutique on Madison Avenue that sold both eveningwear and bridal dresses. The boutique has since expanded to include jewelry, eyewear, shows, and homewares. In 2012, Wang collaborated with the Men’s Warehouse brand to release a line of tuxedos.
In 2005, Wang was named Womenswear Designer of the Year by the Council of Fashion Designers of America. A year later, she received the Andre Leon Talley Lifetime Achievement Award from the Savannah College of Art and Design. Wang’s wedding dress has been widely referenced in pop culture, including cameos and movies such as “Sex and the City,” “Gossip Girl,” NBC’s “The West Wing,” and “How to Get Away with Murder.” has been done. .
“People have done much better than me in much shorter periods of time, but that’s not my story,” Wang told BoF. “It’s been brick by brick, customer by customer, store by store. It’s been a journey of passion, but it hasn’t been a quick one. It hasn’t been easy, and that’s the truth.” Her humility. Regardless, the results of Wang’s personal story speak for themselves. Market sources estimate that the retail value of products bearing the Vera Wang name is more than $1 billion annually. Ms. Wang also ranked 34th on Forbes magazine’s list of America’s richest self-made women in 2018, with an income of $630 million that year.
In 2018, Wang made her Instagram debut. Along with bridal dresses, Wang also designs for figure skaters, most recently two-time world champion Nathan Chen at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
