Style check: Vera Wang says she favours an androgynous style

A bevy of designers came to town last week, but it was Vera Wang who got up close and personal. The whippet-thin Wang attended an intimate lunch last Monday, decked-out in all black, oversized shades, a double-breasted waistcoat, slim fitting shorts, and staggering six-inch boots worthy of a dominatrix. You would never have guessed that she is in her early 60s.

Over lunch at Yolanda Choy-Tang's beautiful home, Wang opened up about her life, her family and the highs and lows of her industry. It was a glimpse of what drives one of the earliest internationally recognised Asian designers.

Wang bought a frankness to the conversation about balancing her career with her life, touching on subjects as diverse as sending her daughter to Harvard, her time as a figure skater, her stint as an editor at US Vogue, and how she set up her business "at the relatively older age of 40".

Her success story is an intriguing one, and she told it with that very American openness that often surprises people. The stories about dressing the Hollywood set - the move that really made her name in fashion - were a real insight into the power of those red carpet celebrity pictures.

Despite her name being associated with feminine gowns, both for red carpets and weddings, Wang says that her own style has been sharp and androgynous from the very beginning. "I love blacks, whites and greys," she says.

Revisit her ready-to-wear and you'll see that her femininity does, indeed, come with an edge. Sporty, sheers and sensual neatly sums up her spring 2014 collection, which was shown at New York Fashion Week.