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A Passion for Fashion: Wang Gets Down to Business

Article Overview: Wang’s work schedule as a design director for Ralph Lauren was far less hectic than it had been at Vogue, allowing her more time and freedom to engage in other pursuits. One of those pursuits just happened to be falling in love.

A Passion for Fashion: Wang Gets Down to Business

Wang’s work schedule as a design director for Ralph Lauren was far less hectic than it had been at Vogue, allowing her more time and freedom to engage in other pursuits. One of those pursuits just happened to be falling in love.

Wang had met businessman Arthur Becker at a tennis match back in 1980. The pair started dating and eventually, Becker was ready for marriage. Wang, however, wanted to focus on her career, believing marriage would distract her from achieving her goals. With that, the couple split up but remained friends. It was not until seven years later that the two began dating again, and this time, Wang was ready for a commitment. It was in planning her wedding that Wang would stumble upon the very idea that would later come to put her on the fashion industry’s map.

Like any excited bride-to-be, Wang went on a hunt for the perfect wedding dress. But what was supposed to be a fun experience quickly became a painful three-month process. “I wanted something more elegant and subdued, but there wasn't anything,” she says.

Wang’s inability and frustration in finding her dream wedding dress led her to an important conclusion. “I realized the desire to fill that niche,” she says. Although she gave up on finding her own gown - instead paying a dressmaker $10,000 to create a custom-made one for her - Wang knew she had found the inspiration for a new business venture.

However, while Wang’s professional life might have just been on the verge of taking off, she was suffering personally. Wang and her new husband were having difficulty having a baby, forcing Wang to endure weeks of fertility treatments. The treatments were so demanding on her schedule that Wang even decided to quit her position at Ralph Lauren.

In 1990, Wang regained her focus on starting up her own business venture. This time, her father was on board, and even agreed to give her the $4 million financial backing that she needed to set up shop. With that, Wang opened up a bridal gown shop in the upscale Carlyle Hotel on Madison Avenue in New York City, selling dresses that were simple yet elegant and made of rich fabrics.

The Vera Wang label soon became known for its detail, colors, fabrics, and simplicity. Brides began pouring into her store, but the fashion press was not as receptive, questioning her talent and her family’s financial support.

Still, over the years, Wang’s reputation in the industry has solidified, so much so that she was quickly able to branch out beyond wedding gowns. In 2001, Wang released her first book, Wang on Weddings, which was followed by her signature fragrance, a bridesmaid dress collection, and a collection of china and stemware. Wang’s name has since also been lent to a collection of jewelry, eyewear, shoes, linens, and more.

Today, Wang remains at the helm of the multi-million dollar company she created, and continues to set her goals on new sights.

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Article Tags: arthur becker, business venture, businessman, design director, dream wedding, fertility treatments, frustration, having a baby, inspiration, marriage, new business, niche, own business, professional life, ralph lauren, ready for marriage, seven years, verge, vogue, wedding dress



Related Forum Posts
Re: Fashion - Nana, At you choice you may choose to research the fashion industry a bit more. There is obviously a Business side to it as well as a creative side to it. Find out all the types of roles that exist in the industry. Some that come to mind merchandiser, Window dresser, floor plan organizer (someone needs to determine the layout of a retail store to best sell the goods), fashion consultant (Yorkdale mall has fashion consultants that take you around and tell you what looks great on you - you also get a cut from the sales). This is what I've observed from the business side, you may know more. All these roles I've written about will help you grow as a business person and make the contacts in the industry...possible stepping stones. But further more you'll also notice that you need to develop some business acumen possibly tailored to the fashion industry. When I was at Ryerson I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur someday too. I knew I needed some basic business courses to get a foundation to build from. I was in a Tech/Business Major (I'm sure Fashion has something similar - Fashion/Business Major) and then started to create my own minor. Here are some of the courses I took: Marketing, Law, Entrepreneurial, Management, consulting.. and a few more . Also, I'm sure that within the Fashion Major there are also courses you have to take where you can use your creative side and create designs. Typically within a Major there are focuses you can choose - ask the program coordinator. Your next step is to do some research. 1. Visit Commercial retail outlets like H&M, Banana Republic, or jacob. Tell the Manager your doing some research for University and would like to know what types of Corporate roles exist aside from the roles on the retail floor (like sales associates). If she asks you to elaborate then you can use some of the roles I mentioned above. 2. With this information in hand you can visit the Ryerson Fashion department and inquire with the Program Coordinator on what focus within the Fashion Degree would help you the most. In my program there were 5 different focuses within the Tech/Business program. Just a quick aside. A good friend of mine too has a dream of fashion. he want to create a niche fashion line tailored to skinny men (I can't mention the style). He's in Business school but not in the Fashion program... He's in International Business but all his Minor courses are tailored to running a successful business ... similar to the ones I mentioned above for myself. I have no doubt in my mind he'll make it 'cos his vision is that strong.
Sports franchises even affect other countries - I was watching the Yankees vs Red Sox yesterday, and pitcher Chien-Ming Wang got knocked out early. The announcers were saying that he is big business in Taiwan, with their business rising and falling depending on how he does in his games. (Now that I try to remember [i:141w7dbz]exactly [/i:141w7dbz]what they said, it's not coming back to me, but in any event a lot of money rides on each Wang start.) You can always go for a small franchise and build it up.... like a professional women's football team...
My entry - 1. The Best Business Books Ever: The 100 Most Influential Business Books You'll Never Have Time to Read - this is a fascinating book about the history of Business theory, and I'd recommend it to anybody. 2. The Big Book of Small Business: You Don't Have to Run Your Business by the Seat of Your Pants, by Tom Gegax. Ditto. 3. PADI: The Business of Diving Book Okay, so this book won't be of use to anyone who doesn't want to start a scuba store, but I did, and this book was of course invaluable to me in reaching that goal.
Re: For all Women Entrepreneurs - Hi Carol, I think this forum is very empowering to woman. I am only a student in High school right now, but I hope to be a successful entrepreneur my self one day. I look up to entrepreneurs like Vera Wang, are there any famous female entrepreneurs that motivate you?
Update on profiles to come - Here is a list of the upcoming entrepreneurs that we will be featuring. Thank you Kevin for the feedback! Vera Wang Magic Johnson Joyce Hall Wayne Huizenga Martin Lindstrom (Toblerone) Peter van Stolk (Jones Soda)


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