Assisted Wedding

The History and Popularity of Vera Wang Wedding Dresses

August 16, 2009

Vera Wang is best known as “wedding dress designer to the stars.” Celebrities including Mariah Carey, Sharon Stone, Uma Thurman and Jennifer Lopez have all worn her designs in star-studded, widely-publicized weddings.

Her stylish cuts and opulent designs flatter brides of all types, along with the many materials, colors and styles she incorporates into her work. Vera Wang has become the ultimate representation of wedding style to many brides, often cited as a favorite designer. Vera Wang began her career in fashion magazines like Vogue.

She became well-known as one of the youngest fashion editors to that point. In 1990, at the age of 23, Wang started her first bridal line. She hoped to create gowns that were both sophisticated and traditions, but felt unsure whether brides would embrace her aesthetic. In 1994, she created a simple white outfit for world celebrity skater Nancy Kerrigan and found success overnight.

Wang’s own experience with competitive skating in younger years helped her create an outfit that was both striking and practical. Vera Wang’s passion for fashion developed at a very young age; her mother would take her to the French fashion shows in Paris. Her early influences have resulted in a style known for elegant, opulent designs based on rich textiles, particularly silks.

Her work is an aspiration for many women dreaming of the perfect wedding gown.

Ruched fabrics, tulle, and A-line styles are particularly stylish just now. Look at the Vera Wang fall collection to see spectacular simplicity—gowns that are gorgeous, obviously the product of many hours’ work, and yet stunningly pared down to the essence of design. Vera Wang’s early dresses concentrated on traditional styles.

Her career trajectory has been without setbacks. Her customers immediately perceived her eye for design, often looking to the wedding gown for ideas on which to base the whole wedding! An example of how Vera Wang’s designs have reached both celebrities and the larger public is the gown singer Jessica Simpson wore for her wedding to Nick Lachey in 2002 (they have since divorced).

The gown, when published in “In Touch” magazine’s Top Ten Most Glamorous Wedding Gown list, easily defeated the Christian Dior gown worn by Melania Knauss for her marriage to Donald Trump. Vera Wang’s creativity seems to spring from thin air as she continues to reinvent the wedding gown for successive crops of delighted brides. Although Vera Wang’s business enterprises have expanded to a number of lines of luxury goods, wedding gowns are still the flagship of her fame and success.

Even after 17 years, women around the world still study her designs for ideas about how to have a beautiful, memorable, and unique wedding day. Vera Wang gowns continue to be the apex of wedding gowns for contemporary brides and her success shows no signs of flagging. Congratulations, Vera!

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