Vera Wang – Innovative Bridal Fashion, Romantic Fragrances & More – En Vogue at 71!

Vera Wang – a well-known high-fashion name in the world of brides, fragrances, and wedding cakes. The name Wang stands for the perfect symbiosis of innovative rebellion and timeless elegance – seemingly opposing forces that she skillfully unites with every collection. Since the 1990s, she has broken every fashion taboo in bridal wear, always setting new trends with black chiffon and pearl-white tulle. We at CM Models have put together all the information about the 71-year-old fashion icon’s success story and her biggest collaborations for you here.

Vera Wang – The Dazzling Career of an Ageless Fashion Icon

Vera Wang’s career is one of a kind. It’s shaped by hard work, determination, and her idea of revolutionizing the world of weddings and bridal fashion. Compared to other well-known designers, Wang’s international breakthrough took a long time to arrive:

A Chinese Woman from Manhattan

As the daughter of wealthy Chinese immigrants, Vera Wang was born in New York City on June 27, 1949. She spent most of her childhood on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, where she attended both the elite Chapin School and Sarah Lawrence College. There, after a failed career as a professional figure skater, she enrolled to study art history.

• 1949: Wang is born in New York City as the daughter of a Chinese couple
• She attended the elite Chapin School and Sarah Lawrence College
• Wang originally pursued a career as a figure skater

From Vogue to Ralph Lauren

After graduating from college, she went on to a career as a senior fashion editor at one of the most renowned fashion magazines of modern times: Vogue. After 15 years as a fashion journalist, she left the magazine to take a job as design director at none other than Ralph Lauren.

• After college, she worked for Vogue
• After 15 years, she worked as design director at Ralph Lauren

A Businesswoman Becomes a Designer

After a short time, however, the then-41-year-old Wang decided on yet another career change and opened her first own bridal boutique at the upscale Carlyle Hotel on Madison Avenue in New York City. A year earlier she had married her longtime partner Arthur Becker and realized that the selection of bridal wear was simply too limited. To spare other women from her own bridal-wear dilemma, Wang now offered couture dresses from a wide range of designers in her boutique – from Guy Laroche to Christian Dior.

Over the years, not only did her celebrity clientele grow, but so did her passion for fashion design, and so a few years later Wang released her first own bridal collection. Characteristic of it: streamlined, sophisticated wedding dresses for every type of woman.

• 1990: Wang gets married and subsequently opens her first own bridal boutique
• She sells couture dresses by designers including Guy Laroche and Christian Dior
• Eventually she designs her first own collection

Meteoric Rise

In 1994 – four years after opening her boutique – Wang enjoyed international attention for the first time when she designed a hand-beaded ensemble for figure skater Nancy Kerrigan for the Olympic Games. Shortly after came her first collection of elegant evening wear. The name Vera Wang was no longer unknown and from then on graced the covers of various fashion magazines worldwide. Still always at the center of it all: her love for wedding dresses.

• 1994: Wang designs the outfit for figure skater Nancy Kerrigan
• Her first collection of elegant evening wear follows
• The name Wang is now established in haute couture

An Established Icon of Fashion and Pop Culture

In 2002, Wang also conquered the world of perfumery and launched her first fragrance. Since then she has expanded her business and now also designs lingerie, jewelry, homeware, and even desserts. In 2006, in cooperation with the department store chain Kohl’s, she released an affordable everyday clothing collection called Simply Vera, which remains very popular to this day.

Wang is also always present on the red carpet. For years, her designs have adorned Hollywood’s crème de la crème. Her dresses, which always combine modernity and tradition almost synoptically, are worn especially at movie premieres and award ceremonies. Her main clients include actresses like Halle Berry, Charlize Theron, and Meg Ryan.

• 2002: Wang’s first perfume is released
• 2006: The Simply Vera collection is born
• Today Wang is considered one of the greatest fashion icons of our time

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Interview with the New York Times – Video

Vera Wang on the beginning of her career, the pressure in the fashion industry, and her love for her profession. Watch her interview with the New York Times here.

Subversive Wedding Dresses, Sweet Fragrances, and Sparkling Rings

Must-haves from the house of Wang: while Vera Wang is known for her bridal fashion, she has also designed rings, fragrances, lingerie, and evening wear since her international breakthrough. Check out the highlights here.

Wedding Dresses in a Class of Their Own

Anyone who thinks of Vera Wang thinks of one thing above all: wedding dresses. To this day she’s regarded as a famous designer in her field, impressing couples worldwide anew with every collection. Her clients always delight in dresses meticulously crafted from the world’s finest fabrics and adorned with high-quality details like bows and pearls.

What Makes Wang’s Dresses Special

Innovative, elegant, and yet timeless: Wang knows what her clients need and manages, time and again, to revolutionize the world of bridal fashion. Her dresses are timeless, sophisticated, yet simple – sometimes traditional in white, sometimes rebellious in red. Wang doesn’t shy away from dark colors like gray or black either. What was once considered unfit for the altar, she makes altar-worthy after all. Her designs are sometimes minimalist, with clean cuts and a hint of tulle, and sometimes richly adorned with embroidery and deep necklines. Beauty, innovation, and elegance always come first here.

This fashion icon also isn’t afraid of unconventional methods when it comes to realizing her visions. The most famous example: to break the status quo of the pearl-white wedding dress, her design team dipped every dress in a bathtub full of tea for a whole year. The result? Another Wang collection praised by critics.

Bridal Collection – A Fairy-Tale Magic

Vera Wang Spring Summer – of course we don’t want to keep her latest bridal collection from you either. And what reflects spring and its familiar spring feelings better than flowers? This year, flowers served as Vera Wang’s major inspiration for her new designs. Handmade floral appliqués made from a wide variety of materials adorn the sleeves, petticoats, and corsets. Tulle is also used more heavily here, to achieve an almost flower-like illusion. The dresses are a little reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland. They’re romantic and enchanting. Slightly dreamy, yet sophisticated and elegant. Wang’s goal here isn’t just to captivate the wearers of the dresses and their wedding guests. Above all, she’s concerned with individuality and expressing different personalities, which is why the dresses look different from every angle, as Wang explains in an interview with the American women’s magazine Harper’s Bazaar.

“No matter where you stand – front, back, from the side – the dress contrasts in texture, tone, and proportions. It’s not simple, but this collection still feels effortless.” – V. Wang

See the magic of Wang for yourself in this video:

The Price of Haute Couture

Prices start at 2,000 US dollars: anyone who decides to say their vows in a masterpiece from the house of Wang isn’t just choosing timeless haute couture, but also its considerable price tag: most Vera Wang dresses cost between 2,000 and 6,000 US dollars. They’re sold both at Wang’s bridal boutique on Madison Avenue and at department stores like Barney’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Neiman Marcus. The dresses are also available online. Anyone happy with a second-hand wedding dress can also find one on eBay and Amazon.

Extravagant Fragrances

From lotus blossom to champagne: since 2002, the name Vera Wang has stood not only for elegant wedding dresses and evening wear, but also for extravagant fragrances. Her first signature scent for women was launched in 2002 and instantly became very popular. The male counterpart followed in 2004. Wang’s love for weddings is reflected in most of her creations, and they’ve even inspired quite a few famous perfumers themselves. To date, more than 29 fragrances are credited to the fashion icon – we’ve summarized the top three most popular Wang fragrance creations for you here: Princess, Be Jeweled, and Lovestruck.

Princess: An Homage to the Modern Princess

The bestseller among Wang’s fragrances lives up to its name more than most. Princess by Vera Wang launched in 2006 and has been a sales hit ever since. The oriental-floral scent was created by Ilias Ermenidis and Harry Fremont and is dedicated to all modern-day princesses. The royal blend of guava and tiare flower is accompanied by dark chocolate and sweetened with a hint of vanilla. All of it is packaged in an equally royal heart-shaped bottle topped with a crown.

• Top note: lady apple, water lily
• Heart note: tiaré flower, pink guava
• Base note: chiffon vanilla, sugar, dark chocolate

Be Jeweled: A Fragrance as Elegant as Jewels

Similarly popular is Vera Wang’s fragrance Be Jeweled, a perfume created by perfumer Yann Vasnier in 2013. Staying true to her romantic, sweet signature, Wang here combines the scent of fruity pomegranate and playful passion fruit with warm sandalwood and pink crystal sugar. The fragrance composition is spirited and playful at once, giving its wearer a touch of youthful elegance and zest for life. The perfume gets its name from its striking bottle, which, much like the wearer’s own personality, resembles a diamond.

• Top note: pomegranate, red currant, champagne
• Heart note: passion fruit, honeysuckle, pink peony
• Base note: pink crystal sugar, musk, Australian sandalwood

Lovestruck: The Sweet Scent of Young Love

Urban and seductive at once, the scent by Stephen Nelsen and Doreen Bollhofer has been turning heads by the dozen since 2011. The fragrance is floral, composed of fruity, tropical notes with a touch of musky romance. The scent is housed in a pink crystal bottle adorned with a romantic bow. Random fact: the face of the campaign was our Gossip Girl favorite Leighton Meester.

• Top note: mandarin, pink guava
• Heart note: lotus, tuberose
• Base note: woods, musk

Romantic Engagement Rings from the House of Wang

Sparkling diamonds and 14-karat white gold: although brides all over the world have been walking down the aisle in Wang’s fairy-tale creations for years, one of the most important symbols of the most beautiful promise in the world remained untouched by Wang’s magic for a long time: the engagement ring. Unique, timeless, innovative, and iconic all at once, Wang has since released two collections, and of course we at CM Models don’t want to keep them from you.

“Creating a line of beautiful diamond engagement rings and bridal jewelry is a natural extension of my passion for designing bridal fashion.” – V. Wang

The Love Collection: Sapphires as a Symbol of Eternal Love

In 2012, Vera Wang launched her first jewelry collection, which remains popular worldwide to this day. In true Vera Wang fashion, this isn’t about just any bracelets or necklaces – no, as always, these works of art from the house of Wang make the hearts of every bride, and everyone hoping to become one, beat faster. The collection, originally released under the name “Vera Wang LOVE,” includes a wide range of engagement rings and wedding bands for the modern couple. Every piece of jewelry comes with a certificate of authenticity and bears an exclusive Wang engraving on the inside. Just like her fairy-tale dresses and romantic fragrances, her rings underscore the timeless elegance of the wearer.

Her designs are remarkable – most of her creations are crafted in 14-karat white gold, though the innovative designer sometimes also caters to more daring brides with unconventional two-tone gold. The bands are always set with diamonds. At the center of attention: a traditionally set diamond in a wide range of cuts and shapes at the center of the ring. Blue sapphire, as a symbol of fidelity and eternal love, is also frequently used by Wang – an innovative break with convention that carries a lot of meaning for the modern-day couple.

The Wish Collection: Playful Rose Gold

After the worldwide success of her first jewelry collection, it was only a matter of time before Wang decided to launch another ensemble of sparkling diamonds. So in 2019 she released another bridal jewelry collection. Unlike “Vera Wang LOVE,” this one is only available at the American jeweler Jared and carries the name “Vera Wang WISH.” Most of the rings are still crafted in 14-karat white gold, though this time Wang also opted more often for romantic rose gold. Compared to the previous collection, the bands of the rings this time are more playful and varied. Alongside the typical cuts and shapes, you’ll also find more unconventional diamond cuts in the form of hearts and flowers.

Wang’s Biggest Collaborations – Everyday Clothing and Tuxedos

Over the decades, Wang has established herself not only as an innovative bridal fashion designer, but also as a sought-after collaborator. Her creative ideas have also found resonance in the world of sweets and tuxedos.

For Every Budget

Kohl’s x Vera Wang: the American clothing chain Kohl’s and Vera Wang have now been working together for over ten years. Together they offer fashion that makes luxury accessible while bringing elegance and style into everyday life. Starting with a few simple, budget-friendly pieces, the collection now also includes jewelry, shoes, handbags, and accessories.

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For Dessert Fanatics

Ladurée x Vera Wang: after clothing, jewelry, and home textiles, in 2018 innovator Vera Wang finally ventured into the world of vanilla sugar too: in collaboration with the French patisserie Ladurée, the first desserts from the house of Wang were created. Here too, she stayed true to her unique aesthetic. Her macarons and cakes are decorated with sparkling sugar flowers and pink cascading bows. As always, breaking with style and convention takes top priority. Brides can look forward to both white and black wedding cakes, and dessert fanatics get their fill with macarons in the unconventional flavors of coconut cream and mango.

For the Fashion-Conscious Groom

Men’s Wearhouse x Vera Wang: in an age of feminism and equality, the male counterpart to the wedding dress obviously can’t be forgotten. And so, in 2014, grooms too could enjoy Wang’s designs for the first time. Her tuxedo line BLACK by Vera Wang has since been sold exclusively at the American tuxedo outfitter Men’s Wearhouse and offers a fashionable alternative to the otherwise classically cut modern tuxedo.

Check out Wang’s commercial here:

Runway Highlights – Dark Lingerie and Plenty of Tulle

Vera Wang’s innovative spirit can also be found in her ready to wear collections. Here we’ve put together some highlights from her most recent collections for you.

Royal Ruffles with a Touch of Edginess

Earlier this year, Vera Wang presented her current Fall/Winter collection at the James B. Duke House in Manhattan. Wearing tall platform heels, the young models strutted up and down the opulent foyer on a chartreuse carpet personally laid out by Wang. This time, her collection consisted mainly of racy boudoir pieces, corsets, and pleated tulle. Asymmetrical ruffled shirts also appear more frequently. Always, of course, in true Vera Wang style: romantic with a bit of rebellion.

Romantic Fragility and High Heels

After a two-year break, the bridal fashion icon returned with daring lingerie elements, sheer bra tops, and loose chainmail-style tops. Loose and unlaced, tops and dresses were layered to dreamily envelop the models’ delicate silhouettes. Romantic. Delicate. Almost fragile, the models seemed to float through the darkness on high heels.

More About Vera Wang

The story of Wang’s company is colorful, loud, and diverse. Here we’ve answered the most interesting questions about Vera Wang and her fashion empire once more.

Q&A: The Most Frequently Asked Questions

When was Vera Wang born? What is she known for, and who has she dressed in the past?

How Old Is Vera Wang?

Vera Wang was born on June 27, 1949, in New York City.

What Is the Name Wang Known For?

Vera Wang has specialized in exquisite, innovative bridal fashion since 1990. Also well known are her annual ready to wear collection, her evening gowns, and her perfumes. Eyewear, jewelry, and tuxedos from the house of Wang are well known too.

Which Famous Brides Has Vera Wang Already Dressed?

Wang’s most famous clients include Kaley Cuoco, Kim Kardashian, Chelsea Clinton, Alicia Keys, Ivanka Trump, Victoria Beckham, and Mariah Carey.

Where Is Vera Wang’s Bridal Boutique Located?

Wang’s bridal boutique has been located at the upscale Carlyle Hotel on Madison Avenue in New York City since 1990.

Where Can I Buy Vera Wang’s Dresses and Perfumes?

Most of her dresses can be bought on her official website. Her sunglasses are available in the online shop run by farfetch, her perfumes and Simply Vera collection at the American department store chain Kohl’s, and her tuxedo collection for men at Men’s Wearhouse. Anyone interested in the unique jewelry from the house of Wang will find it at Jared.

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