Vera Wang

Vera Wang biography

Born: New York, USA 1949

Vera Wang’s parents emigrated to the US during the mid 1940s. Wang originally trained as a figure skater, but when she failed to make the US Olympic team, she entered the fashion industry.

Wang worked as a senior fashion editor at Vogue for sixteen years. She left Vogue in 1985 after failing to be promoted to editor-in-chief and joined Ralph Lauren as a design director.

After working at Ralph Lauren for two years, Wang left to establish her own company in 1990. Seeing an untapped niche and with financial help from her father, Wang opened a luxury salon in the Carlyle Hotel in New York to design and sell wedding dresses that were made in the tradition of Parisian couture.

Originally the salon offered couture gowns from Guy Laroche, Christian Dior and Carolina Herrera. However, after honing her skills, Wang began to design her own collections.

Wang designed figure skater Nancy Kerrigan’s 1994 Olympic costume. The design received international attention.

Wang launched a ready-to-wear collection in 2000, which was immediately successful. Five years later Wang was acknowledged with The Council of Fashion Designers of America ‘Womenswear Designer of the Year’ award.

In 2001 Wang launched her first fragrance and released a wedding guide. With the business continuing to grow, in 2006 Wang collaborated with department store Kohl’s launching a diffusion line exclusively for the chain called Very Vera.

Vera Wang is synonymous with fashionable brides internationally. The label has dressed celebrities including Ivana Trump, Chelsea Clinton, Victoria Beckham, Nancy Kerrigan and Kate Hudson and is the first choice for famous brides.

Superb craftsmanship, luxurious fabrics and excellent tailoring are exhibited in feminine and contemporary designs which yet still offer an air of traditionalism.

Vera Wang biography