Vera Wang, defining her own beauty standards
Our first closet portrait for March features Vera Wang, the designer of Verafied. Vera came to the U.S. in her 20s from China, where she never felt like she fit traditional beauty standards. While in New York, Vera embraced her freedom and smart sexy style and launched an iconic brand, drawing inspiration from the powerful energy of NYC.
Special thank you to the incredible photographer, Amelia Hammond, who made this closet portrait come to life.
Download Arête in the App Store today, follow Vera, and get inspired by her fashion/see her favorite looks!
Can you tell us the story of Verafied and how you started the company?
“Smart sexy is the vibe of Verafied. I wanted to create a brand for New York women. New York women are sharp. During the day, we are fierce, and at night we are sexy.”
I always loved fashion and hated being told what to do. I’ve always had my personal style and wasn’t following any trends. I dreamt about having my own brand for a long time. When I launched my PR company, I worked for big brands and small brands and learned a lot. During COVID, I finally decided to take a chance and use my experience working with brands to launch my own company. However, it was scary. I had worked for so many big brands and saw their struggles and wondered why people would want to follow me, a “nobody.” Regardless of these fears, I still tried, and within the first year, it did so well, and this gave me a confidence boost.
Owning a brand is an extension of your style. Verafied was born in COVID and was a “try out” that actually worked! I love it more and more every day. In the next few years, we want to go global. We want more stores! I started Verafied in China during COVID and then worked in the US and European markets a bit. I realized that every culture has its own preferences. I learned about the different cultures and put those experiences into my designs. Going global to me is about learning new cultures and putting that into my designs. I want to tap into more markets…Verafied might be coming to the Middle East soon!
How did you develop personal style & how did it evolve?
I grew up in China and everything was very restricted. There was a singular beauty standard and I felt constrained during my 22 years there. I did not know what I was missing. In China, the beauty standard is being very girly and feminine. You want to look like a little princess and be very cute. This is not my personality and I felt like my wings were cut off when I was wearing that style. My style and personality are much more aggressive. When I had to conform, I felt like I had to be a little lamb instead of the lion I am.
When I came to NYC in 2013 for school, which is the best city, everything felt free and open. I learned from others and found my true self this way. Even with the trends that exist in New York, not everybody follows that trend. I got super inspired by New Yorkers, how they live life, and how they discover themselves.
This inspired me to dye my hair blonde. I remember the day I dyed my hair blonde and instantly thought, “wow, this is me!” I felt liberated and like I could do anything. I finally looked in the mirror and felt like myself.
I dyed my hair when I started my first company in 2016. It was a very impulsive thing because I had a really big grand opening and felt like I needed to do something about my style and wanted to surprise everybody. When I did it, I loved it and felt fully like myself. Today, my style is minimal but sharp. I want to look smart 100% of the time. I want to have a smart sexy vibe.
Do you remember a time in your life when getting dressed gave you a boost of confidence?
When I designed my first few bags, I felt so confident. I put on a capsule wardrobe and had my bag and this made me feel different and powerful. I love handbags and shoes so those are two things I will always splurge on.
What do you wear when you feel most confident?
I wear a powersuit or a beautiful dress. If it’s a suit, I love big shoulders and tall tall heels. Or I love a very simple dress that has the perfect cut. I love a vintage 90s Tom Ford or Gucci Dress. I love when it fits your body perfectly and is one piece and simple. Then people’s attention is on you and not on the dress.
What do you think about when creating an outfit?
The whole process is about eliminating as much as possible. I don’t do a lot of layers. If 3 pieces work, I do 3. If 2 pieces work, I do 2. You want to concentrate on one point of the outfit. If you want to show off the top, then the top should be the center of the outfit. You don’t want too much attention because then people lose attention.
Where do you get your inspiration from ?
Instagram. I watch a lot of old runway shows. I get a lot of inspiration from the 90s. I really like Calvin Klein in the 90s. I will always love YSL. The brand DNA is very sharp and simple. I really like that it’s super sharp and the models they select express the sharpness of the brand.
What’s your favorite way to find new brands?
I’m on Instagram a lot because I do daily research and the algo is pretty good. I do a lot of vintage research, too. I’ll search on the RealReal or type in a brand and click vintage and go through their whole collection.
Any anti-gatekeeping advice for fashion?
I hate following trendy clothing. I definitely see that there are a lot of trends lately, like “mob wife,” and then everyone wears the same thing. If you follow a certain trend, then make sure that it’s yours. If you blindly follow trends, then you don’t have your own style. If you don’t have your style, then you don’t have your own personality.
It’s the same thing I do with my brand – I don’t follow the trends. As an example, Zara just follows the trend and whenever something comes out, they sell it in 2 weeks. This is why small brands fail – they are missing a brand identity. I hate this for people and encourage everyone to develop their own style. Fashion is an extension of your personality. Fashion is like telling people who we are.
If you could swap closets with one person, who would it be and why?
She has an amazing style and it’s consistent. She also has a very strong personality.
What's a major fashion red flag?
I hate logo whores with luxury brands. I love some designer products because of their originality and real design. However, I understand this is business and there are financial incentives to promote these logos and really mark up a simple t-shirt with a huge logo. This might make money but is not good for the designer and really takes away from the brand identity. From a customer standpoint, I don’t like the idea of wearing a shirt with a logo with the purpose of reaching a certain social status. In certain cases, the logo is part of the design, and then it makes sense.
Tell us about the four fits we shot and the occasions, styles, & vibes you associate with each!
Look 1: The jacket is vintage YSL and I love their stuff. The fur shawl is also vintage and I added it for character. Jeans are casual and match with the suede Verafied bag. It's a very quiet luxury and low key look. This is more casual but it means business and has a lot of definition. This is my “9 am, meeting up with a client” look. This is for when you want to look nice but not be super formal and boring. You want to look like you work in fashion.
Look 2: This is the look I would wear to an LA event. The corset is super sexy and the color is elegant. You can wear this to an event and put on a jacket to be more businessy. If you want to add more power to the look, add the jacket. If you take it off, you can go grab cocktails. It’s smart styling.
Look 3: The top is a corset and is vintage MOSCHINO. The skirt is Prada and from the 90s runway. This is the style I try to go for. The jacket is YSL and has big powerful shoulders. The material contrast is always very important. If you’re wearing all black, make sure there are different materials. This is a look I would wear to dinner. You could also wear it to work but when you remove the jacket, it’s a party. Without the jacket, it’s smart sexy.
Look 4: I saw this look from Burberry and they inspired me. They were making a short trench and paired it with red. I love red but it’s a difficult color. Everybody loves it but not everybody can pull it off. If you can wear red, you’re lucky. It adds a very strong element and everyone will look at you. Red is my favorite color and that’s why I made this bag. It turned out to be the most popular bag! This outfit is super simple, and I was emphasizing the bag and shoes. This is my “10pm outfit” when you are going out with your girlfriend.
Look 5: White is my favorite color, too. I will always wear all white or all black. This is the office look when I want to look chic. You can’t get your clothes dirty!
