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Lesson #1: Create a Brand that Can Be Loved, Honoured, and Obeyed

Article Overview: When Wang first opened up shop on Madison Avenue in New York, she was not just selling wedding dresses; what Wang was selling was service. Her goal was to help the women “that are running around looking for special dresses, looking to have everything taken care of because they have busy lives.” To that end, Wang’s shop also helped brides with their jewelry, shoes, hairdos, and more. “I’m creating an image, a brand and a name,” she says.

Lesson #1: Create a Brand that Can Be Loved, Honoured, and Obeyed

When Wang first opened up shop on Madison Avenue in New York, she was not just selling wedding dresses; what Wang was selling was service. Her goal was to help the women “that are running around looking for special dresses, looking to have everything taken care of because they have busy lives.” To that end, Wang’s shop also helped brides with their jewelry, shoes, hairdos, and more. “I’m creating an image, a brand and a name,” she says.

Focusing on bringing a new level of service to the bridal gown industry was just the first step in Wang’s strategy to create a strong brand – a brand that would be synonymous with quality, style, and elegance. Although Wang wanted to design wedding dresses, her business did not end there.

From designing gowns, Wang decided to branch off. She became the first designer to open up her own wedding registry, allowing clients to not only select products they wanted on her website, but also provided valuable insights into runway trends, couples quizzes, and wedding planning ideas. Wang then moved outside the realm of dresses, creating an inspired line of bedding, home goods, and even stationary.

“Our authoritative position in bridal and bridal registry has allowed us to leverage this [consumer] trust into a lifestyle brand,” says Wang. “The next logical step is to capitalize on our relationship with the client over the course of their lives. Our objective is to continue to grow our lifestyle product offering and keep pace with the evolving needs of the consumer.”

Wang has capitalized on her ability to meet the consumer’s needs – at whatever end of the market they may be. While her wedding gowns may run up a price tag of more than the average consumer can afford, many of her other products are priced on a more reasonable level. “Let's be realistic, how many people are buying a $2,000 skirt?” she asks. “I love to design things that people can actually buy. I'm staggered by what a boot costs today.” Her recent ready-to-wear clothing line demonstrates
her attempt to reach consumers at all levels.

“It is horrible to say, but I was stigmatized by being a bridal designer for a long time,” says Wang. “I am amazed I have been able to move beyond it. I had really all but given up trying, but I did it because it was my lifelong dream.”

Moving forward, Wang still sees room to grow in all of the furniture, fabrics, rugs, lighting, and paint domains. Her signature fragrance license agreement with Unilever Cosmetics International continues to flourish. Indeed, as of now, Wang sees no limits to her brand potential, so long as her expansions are logical ones, and her trademarks of simplicity and elegance remain the same. She has even set her sights on a Singapore casino project that would see a wedding-themed resort under her brand created.

Throughout her career, Wang has decided to challenge herself not only as a designer, but as an entrepreneur, channeling her vision to many different avenues. As a result, she has succeeded in creating a lifestyle company that has a definitive message, vision, and role to play in her consumer’s lives.

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Article Tags: bridal gown, bridal registry, consumer trust, gown industry, hairdos, home goods, lesson 1, lifestyle brand, lifestyle product, logical step, madison avenue, price tag, product offering, quality style, runway trends, select products, wedding dresses, wedding gowns, wedding planning ideas, wedding registry



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