Vera Wang
Vera Wang | |
|---|---|
 Wang at the 2009 premiere of City Island | |
| Born | June 27, 1949 |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | The Chapin School Sarah Lawrence College |
| Label | Vera Wang |
| Awards | CFDA's womenswear designer of the year, 2005
André Leon Talley Lifetime Achievement Award |
Vera Wang (Chinese: 王薇薇; pinyin: Wáng Wēiwei; born June 27, 1949) is an American fashion designer based in New York. She is known for her wedding gown collection.
Early life
Vera Ellen Wang[1] was born and raised in New York, NY of Chinese descent. Her parents were born in Shanghai, China, and came to the United States in the mid-1940s. Her mother worked as a translator for United Nations, while her father owned a medicine company. She has one younger brother, Kenneth. After graduating from The Chapin School in 1967, she attended the University of Paris and earned a degree in art history from Sarah Lawrence College.
While in high school, Wang trained as a figure skater with pairs partner James Stuart, and competed at the 1968 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. She was featured in Sports Illustrated's Faces in the Crowd in the January 8, 1968 issue.[2] When she failed to make the US Olympics team, she entered the fashion industry.[3]
Career
Wang was a senior fashion editor for Vogue for sixteen years. In 1985, she left Vogue after being turned down for the editor-in-chief position currently filled by Anna Wintour and joined Ralph Lauren as a design director for two years. In 1990, she opened her own design salon in the Carlyle Hotel in New York that features her trademark bridal gowns.[4]
Wang has made wedding gowns for Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez, Ivanka Trump, Thalía, Jessica Simpson, Avril Lavigne, Victoria Beckham, Khloe Kardashian, Jennifer Garner, Sharon Stone, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Uma Thurman, Holly Hunter, Campbell Brown, Danielle Jonas[5] Jeri Ryan,[6] Kate Hudson,[7] and Karenna Gore,[8] among various other celebrities.
She has designed costumes for figure skaters, including Nancy Kerrigan, Michelle Kwan and Evan Lysacek. Silver medalist Nancy Kerrigan wore a unique design of Vera's for the 1994 Olympics. She designed the two-piece uniforms currently worn by the Philadelphia Eagles cheerleaders.[9]
In the Sex and the City TV series, Charolotte York found Wang's wedding dress to be the perfect wedding dress, and wore it for her wedding to Trey MacDougal.[10] In Sex and the City movie, Vera Wang was featured amongst the bridal gowns Carrie Bradshaw wore in her Vogue photo shoot.
Wang has expanded her brand name through her fragrance, jewelry, eyewear, shoe and houseware collections. On October 23, 2001, her book, Vera Wang on Weddings, was released. In June 2005, she won the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) 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.
In 2002, Vera Wang began to enter the home fashion industry and launched The Vera Wang China and Crystal Collection, followed by the 2007 release of her diffusion line called Simply Vera Vera Wang, which are sold exclusively by Kohl's.[4]
Wang was inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2009, and was honored for her contribution to the sport as a costume designer.[11]
Personal life
Wang currently lives in Manhattan. She married Arthur Becker in 1989. They have two daughters: Cecilia (born in 1990) who currently attends the University of Pennsylvania, and Josephine (born in 1993) who currently attends The Chapin School. Arthur is the CEO of an information technology services company called NaviSite. Becker's niece is actress Emmy Rossum.
Filmography
Television
- Project Runway as a guest judge (2006)
- Ugly Betty as herself (episode: A Nice Day for a Posh Wedding) (2007)
- The Apprentice as herself (2008)
Movies
- First Daughter (2004) as herself
- The September Issue (2009) as herself
Books
- Vera Wang, Vera Wang on Weddings, HarperCollins, October 2001 (ISBN 9780688162566).
References
- ^ http://www.nytimes.com/1989/06/23/style/vera-wang-wed-to-arthur-becker.html?pagewanted=1
- ^ Sports Illustrated, December 15, 2006, p. 66
- ^ Krohn, Katherine (2006). Vera Wang (A&E Biography). Twenty-First Century Books. p. 112. ISBN 0822566125.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b Vera Wang - Designer Fashion Label Biography New York Magazine. Retrieved October 20, 2009.
- ^ "NBC's Campbell Brown Gets Married" People. April 2, 2006. Retrieved February 6, 2009.
- ^ "Actress Jeri Ryan Marries French Chef" People. June 18, 2007. Retrieved February 6, 2009.
- ^ RSVP for Gossip Girl's Finale Wedding! Retrieved March 1, 2009.
- ^ "Gore's Eldest Daughter Weds New York Doctor In Washington" CNN. July 12, 1997. Retrieved February 6, 2009.
- ^ Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleaders Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 6, 2009.
- ^ Amy Sohn. Sex and the City: Kiss and Tell.
- ^ Johnny Weir, Evan Lysacek in battle at figure skating nationals. USA Today