Vera Wang was born on June 27, 1949 in New York City. The daughter of an affluent Chinese immigrant, she grew up on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. She attended Chapin School, a prestigious private school and took ballet lessons at the School of American Ballet. Wang is also a former figure skater that competed professionally in her teenage years. She competed in the 1968 U.S. Figure Skating Championships but was unsuccessful in her Olympic bid. After graduating from Sarah Lawrence College in 1971 with a degree in art history, Wang moved on to work for Vogue where she eventually became a fashion editor for 15 years. In 1987, Wang left Vogue and became a design director for Ralph Lauren.
Wang’s bridal collection would eventually be launched after unsuccessfully finding the wedding gown of her dreams in 1989. She designed her own wedding dress and commissioned a dressmaker at a cost of $10,000 to bring her personal vision to fruition. She received many compliments and was heavily sought after to design other gowns. With financial backing from her father, Wang decided to open up her own New York bridal boutique in the Carlyle Hotel in 1990. Her innovative bridal designs were coveted by celebrity and socialite clientele.
Naturally, Wang’s next step would be to launch an evening wear collection. Then in 1997, she joined forces with Italian shoe maker Rossimoda to produce a shoe line that complemented her evening and bridal gowns.
In both 1992 and 1994, American figure skater Nancy Kerrigan wore costumes designed by Wang at the Winter Olympics. And in 2003, she designed the uniforms for the Philadelphia Eagles cheerleaders.
Now infamous for her beautifully designed wedding gowns, Wang decided to expand her business through a highly acclaimed and anticipated ready-to-wear collection in 2000. Her ready-to-wear collections would win over the masses, while managing to continue to grasp the attention of magazine editors and movie stars. Wang is known for her relaxed, yet elegant, styling. Her use of layering, draping, and an extremely close attention to detail is her forte.
Her associations with celebrities continue to drive her success and push her into new endeavors, including a cosmetics line that debuted this month in Kohl’s stores.
Arguably one of the most prominent designers of bridalwear in America, Wang has been honored with many awards and accolades for her achievements in both figure skating and fashion. In June 2005, she won the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Womenswear Designer of the Year. She was elected as a member of the prestigious CFDA in 1994. The following year she was awarded the André Leon Talley Lifetime Achievement Award from the Savannah College of Art and Design. She was inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame for her contributions to ice costume design.
