Vera Wang

Vera Ellen Wang<ref name="nytnuptials">Template:Cite news</ref> (Template:Zh; born June 27, 1949)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> is an American fashion designer. Wang initially pursued a career in figure skating before transitioning to fashion. She worked for Vogue and Ralph Lauren before launching her own bridal gown boutique in 1990.

Wang gained international recognition for her wedding dress designs. Her gowns have been worn by numerous celebrities. She expanded her brand to include ready-to-wear fashion, accessories, fragrances, and home goods. In December of 2024, Wang sold her namesake brand after 35 years in business to WHP Global.

Early life

Vera Ellen Wang was born June 27, 1949,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> in New York City to Chinese parents who immigrated to the United States in the mid-1940s. Her mother, Florence Wu (Wu Chifang), worked as a translator for the United Nations, while her father, Cheng Ching Wang (Wang Chengqing), a graduate of Yanjing University and MIT, owned a medicine company, and held the following positions: Director, Singapore Petroleum Company Pte. Ltd., Chairman & President, Oceanic Petroleum Corporation, Chairman & President, Oceanic Petroleum (Asia) Corporation, Chairman & President of Summit Group of Companies (now U.S. Summit Company), Chairman of the Vera Wang Group 1990-1998.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Wang has one brother, Kenneth, who is a life member of MIT Corporation, a board of trustees that governs the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Wang began figure skating at the age of eight, training under Peter Dunfield and Sonya Klopfer in Denver during the summers and with the Skating Club of New York during the rest of the year.<ref name="nyt111220">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="ITNY">Template:Cite web</ref> While in high school, she trained with pairs partner James Stuart, and competed at the 1968 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. She was featured in Sports IllustratedTemplate:'s Faces in the Crowd in the January 9, 1968 issue.<ref>Sports Illustrated, December 15, 2006, p. 66</ref> When she failed to make the U.S. Olympics team, she said, "I was devastated when I did not qualify for the Olympic team."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Then she entered the fashion industry.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Wang continues to enjoy skating, saying, "Skating is multidimensional".<ref name=nyt111220 />

Wang attended Friends Seminary,<ref name="Going">Template:Cite magazine</ref> graduated from Chapin School in 1967, attended the University of Paris, and earned a degree in art history from Sarah Lawrence College.

In 1968, Wang was presented as a debutante to high society at the International Debutante Ball at the Waldorf Astoria New York.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Career

Wang was hired to be an editor at Vogue immediately upon graduation from Sarah Lawrence College, making her the youngest editor at that magazine. She stayed at Vogue for 17 years, leaving in 1987 to join Ralph Lauren, for whom she worked for two years. At 40, she resigned and became an independent bridal wear designer.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

File:Vera Wang Spring-Summer 2014 04.jpg

Vera Wang Spring-Summer 2014 runway show at New York Fashion Week

Wang has made wedding gowns for public figures such as Hayley Williams,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Vanessa Hudgens,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Chelsea Clinton,<ref name=vog12>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Karenna Gore,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Ivanka Trump,<ref name=vog12 /> Campbell Brown,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Alicia Keys,<ref name=vog12 /> Mariah Carey,<ref name=vog12 /> Victoria Beckham,<ref name=vog12 /> Sarah Michelle Gellar,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Avril Lavigne,<ref name=vog12 /> Hilary Duff,<ref name=vog12 /> Khloe Kardashian,<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and Kim Kardashian.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Wang started off as being best known for her elegant wedding dresses. Wang's evening wear has also been worn by Michelle Obama.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Figure skaters who have worn costumes designed by Wang at the Winter Olympic Games include Nancy Kerrigan (1992 and 1994), Michelle Kwan (1998 and 2002), Evan Lysacek (2010), and Nathan Chen (2018 and 2022).<ref name="frey">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Gavin">Template:Cite news</ref> Wang was inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2009 for her contribution to the sport as a costume designer.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She designed the uniforms worn by the Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleaders.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On October 23, 2001, her book Vera Wang on Weddings<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> was released. In June 2005, she won the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Womenswear Designer of the Year. On May 27, 2006, Wang was awarded the André Leon Talley Lifetime Achievement Award from the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Wang's evening wear has been worn by stars at many red carpet events, including Viola Davis at the 2012 Academy Awards,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Sofia Vergara at the 65th Emmy Awards.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

She was awarded the Council of Fashion Designers of America Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>cfda.com "Vera Wang", Council of Fashion Designers of America.</ref>

In 2006, Wang reached a deal with Kohl's, a chain of department stores, to produce a less expensive line of ready-to-wear clothing exclusively for them called Simply Vera.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Forbes placed her the 34th in the list America's Richest Self-Made Women 2018, her revenues rising to $630 million in that year.

On September 10, 2019, after a sabbatical of two years during which she had presented her collections only via films,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Vera Wang returned to the New York Fashion Week runway for her Spring/Summer 2020 fashion show, which celebrated the 30th anniversary of her brand.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref> The show received very positive reviews, with Godfrey Deeny describing it as a "notable collection by one of the few New York designers with a truly distinctive fashion DNA",<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> while Bridget Foley presented Wang's creations as "Beautiful, seriously designed clothes, presented with gutsy panache".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, the show was marred by several major footwear malfunctions,<ref name="Review by Vanessa Friedman for The New York Times">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> especially during the finale when four models fell down,<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref> including Fei Fei Sun, who fell twice in a row,<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref> leading chief fashion critic Vanessa Friedman to state that "In 2019, no woman should be tortured by what she wears".<ref name="Review by Vanessa Friedman for The New York Times" />

In December 2024, WHP Global, a brand management firm based in New York, announced an agreement to acquire the IP of the Vera Wang fashion brand. As part of the transaction, Wang herself will continue the role as Founder & Chief Creative Officer and will join WHP Global as a shareholder.

Retail

In 1990, Wang opened her first design salon in the Carlyle Hotel in New York City that features her trademark bridal gowns.<ref name="VeraWangFashionLines">"Vera Wang – Designer Fashion Label Biography" Template:Webarchive, New York Magazine. Retrieved October 20, 2009.</ref> She has since opened bridal boutiques in New York, London, Tokyo, and Sydney and has also expanded her brand through her fragrance,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> jewelry, eyewear, shoes, and homeware collections.

"White by Vera Wang" launched on February 11, 2011, at David's Bridal. Prices of the bridal gowns range from $600 to $1,400.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2002, Wang began to enter the home fashion industry and launched The Vera Wang China and Crystal Collection,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> followed by the 2007 release of her diffusion line called Simply Vera, which are sold exclusively by Kohl's.<ref name="VeraWangFashionLines" />

File:Vera wang fashion designer by bill cramer.jpg

Wang in 2009

In spring 2012, Wang teamed up with Men's Wearhouse to offer two tuxedo styles available in both the retail and rental areas of their inventory.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> In June 2012, she expanded in Australia with the opening of "Vera Wang Bride Sydney" and her first Asian flagship store "Vera Wang Bridal Korea", helmed by President Jung Mi-ri, in upmarket neighborhood Cheongdam-dong in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In a 2013 interview with CBS, Wang described her transition from journalist to businesswoman as "painful, and not only that, I have no choice. So I think when you start there's a certain innocence because of that freedom, and as you evolve you begin to see the parameters of what you can and can't do. So I make decisions that are very tiny that will affect an hour of work, I make decisions that will impact the lives of the people that work for me. It's in fashion as well, micro work, a centimeter of proportion and then it's macro to see what a vision is on the red carpet."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Personal life

In June 1989, Wang married investor Arthur P. Becker in an interfaith Baptist and Jewish ceremony.<ref name="nytnuptials" /> They have two daughters, both of whom were adopted.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In July 2012, the couple announced their separation.<ref name="huff20120711">Template:Cite news</ref>

In popular culture

Several movies and television shows have featured Wang's works, including The West Wing, The Newsroom, Gossip Girl, Sex and the City,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Revenge,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Simpsons, and the film Sex and the City.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Wang appeared in a cameo in season 5 episode 11 of the TV series Gossip Girl and as herself in the second season of Ugly Betty in episode 2.07.

Filmography

Movies

• First Daughter (2004) as herself.
• The September Issue (2009) as herself.

Television

• Gossip Girl (2012) as herself.
• Keeping Up with the Kardashians (2011) as herself.
• Chelsea Lately (2011) as herself.
• The Celebrity Apprentice (2008) as herself.
• Ugly Betty (2007) as herself.

Books

• Vera Wang, Vera Wang on Weddings, HarperCollins, October 2001 (Template:ISBN).

Recognition

She was recognized as one of the BBC's 100 women of 2021.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2023, she received the Board of Directors' Tribute at the 2023 CFDA Fashion Awards for her Bridal impact.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

See also

• List of fashion designers

External links

• Template:Official website
• Template:FMD designer
• Template:IMDb name