An audience with Vera Wang: it’s all about the dress

Bridal designer Vera Wang  is the first to admit that she was not the best dressed woman at her own wedding. Instead, that accolade went to her chic mother, who wore a custom-made cheongsam.

“She was the most stunning woman there,” says Wang, pointing to the photo that takes pride of place in the living room of her Park Avenue apartment in New York.
“There’s a true sensuality to Chinese culture that I love,” she adds. “I always joke that we are the Italians of the Far East, with our love of food, the good life, sensuality, and beautiful things. That’s all very Chinese and it’s something I am proud of.”

Wang herself embodies Chinese beauty, with her creamy skin and waist-length, shiny black hair. It’s only when she starts talking with her broad accent and no-holds-barred,  can-do attitude that the New Yorker in her begins to emerge.

The American designer’s Chinese heritage influenced her from a young age. She spent 20 years building her business in the US, but now things are set to change, as she plants new roots in Asia. Next Monday, she opens her first stand-alone Hong Kong boutique, in a multilevel townhouse on SoHo’s Staunton Street. It’s her third bridalwear boutique in the region.

“We have been in Asia for 12 years, but this is the beginning of a bigger expansion for us,” she says. “Hong Kong is a big deal because of its stature as a fashion capital. I’ve had a long history with the city, which started with Joyce Ma.  But this is the big bang for us. I’d love to start spending more time there.”

Wang is a household name when it comes to bridalwear. The designer, who founded her eponymous label in 1993 in New York, has outfitted everyone from celebrities to politicians for their big day. She has dressed pop culture icon Kim Kardashian  and former first daughter Chelsea Clinton.