Vera Wang gave up on perfection years ago but says frankly, “I do the best I can.”
For anyone keeping track, the 54-year-old New York designer’s best has evolved into the multimillion-dollar world of Vera Wang.
Although it took years, not days, to create, that world now includes everything from dressing brides (more than 10,000 in 2003) and ice skaters (Olympic medalist Michelle Kwan) to writing a book on weddings and designing luxury items for the home.
As a girl, Wang began her love affair with fashion by visiting the Paris shows with her mother. She studied at the Sorbonne and ended up at Vogue magazine for 16 years. In 1985, she left to join Ralph Lauren as a design director.
Five years later, with financial support from her family, Wang opened a salon in the Carlyle Hotel in New York to showcase her bridal dresses. Subsequently, this led to eveningwear and bridesmaid collections, followed by ready-to-wear and fur lines and an eponymous women’s fragrance, plus a collection of eyewear and shoes, china and crystal, silver flatware and accessories for the table. In January, she added fine jewelry–wedding and engagement rings and fashion pieces–plus a men’s fragrance to her luxurious fashion stable.
This year, the Wang brand will reach about $200 million at retail, nearly a 300 percent increase since the company was launched. Here, she talks about her fashion empire, her life outside the office and what’s next.
You have your fingers in lots of different fashion pies. How do you do it all?
It’s downright impossible to do it all. While I do delegate responsibility, there’s nothing I’m not involved with. I’m the editor. For most of the collections and lines, I have assistants. In clothing, for example, I have a team of four. What keeps me going is a passion and a love of what I do.
Is there a typical workday for you?
Somewhat. I’m a later riser, usually getting up at 9 a.m. I’m in the office by 10:30 a.m. and work straight through without a break until 7 p.m. If I go out with friends or to a black-tie event, I’m home by 9:30 to 9:45 p.m. On days I go straight home, I grab dinner with my husband and two daughters, then we all pile into the den and hang. When the kids go to bed, I design from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. This is my quiet time, when I have time to really think and create.
What was the inspiration for your bridal business?
My own wedding. I was just under 40–really 39 and nine-tenths–and no one was doing any dresses that addressed the modern woman.
How do you relax?
When I get a chance, I play nine holes of golf. I also like to read. And I’m a big believer in sleeping, which I think heals your psyche, and your body needs it.
What’s next in the way of products?
I want to go into more projects for the home, perhaps bed and bath items. We all care about our homes and want to make them as comfortable as possible.
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Edited by Cara DiPasquale (cdipasquale@tribune.com) and Kris Karnopp (kkarnopp@tribune.com)
