Vera Wang

Vera Wang

Vera Wang was born on June 27, 1949, in New York City. Vera Wang was the daughter of wealthy Chinese immigrants. Vera Wang was very happy with her pampered lifestyle was a child. She grew up in Manhattans Upper East Side. She started off wanting to become a ballerina attending the elite Chapin School and the School of American ballet. After her years of school she attended Sarah Lawrence College. During her sophomore year at college she went to Sorbonne, Paris and studied abroad. Shortly after she returned to the United States and completed her degree in art history at Sarah Lawrence.

Vera Wang was a figure skater during her teens, and competed with it as well. In 1968 and 1969 National Championships she and her partner, places 5th in the junior pair competition. After graduation Sarah Lawrence in 1971 she stopped her skating career and began working for Vogue magazine. After only working there for a year, at the age of 23, she was promoted up to senior fashion editor. She held the title of Senior Fashion Editor for the following 15 years. But in 1987, she left Vogue and took a job at the clothing company Ralph Lauren. While she was at Ralph Lauren she took the job as design director for accessories.

In 1989, Vera Wang got married to her long time boyfriend Arthur Becker. Vera Wang was not happy at all with the little selection of bridal dresses. So she decided to make her own sketch of dress she wished to wear. After she finished her sketch she commissioned a dressmaker5 to tailor the extravagant gown. The ending cost of her gown was $10,000.

The following year, with some financial backing from her father, Wang opened her own bridal boutique in the upscale Carlyle Hotel on Madison Avenue in New York City. Catering mostly to celebrities and socialites, the Vera Wang Bridal House initially offered couture gowns by the famed designers Guy Laroche, Arnold Scaasi, Carolina Herrera, and Christian Dior. Over the next few years, Wang honed her skills as a fashion designer and eventually launched a signature collection of streamlined and sophisticated bridal wear.

Wang first received international attention during the 1994 Olympics when she designed a hand-beaded ensemble for figure skater Nancy Kerrigan. Wang has since introduced an equally popular line of elegant evening wear, as well as Vera Wang Made to Order--a collection of couture designs that are available exclusively at