Expect to ‘age out’ of your career, says Vera Wang

From making history as Vogue’s youngest fashion editor in history to creating a gown that fits Kennedy’s wedding covered in grass stains, Vera Wang records her incredible trajectory and shares some of her struggled lessons at the top of her field.

Vera Wang may be best known for creating some of the most memorable wedding dresses of all time. Mariah Carey, Victoria Beckham, Sarah Michelle Geller and Alicia Keys are just a few of the women who chose designers on their big day. What’s less well known is the fact that design wasn’t the first foray into the world of fashion, or even her second. Talk to BBC Special Correspondent Katty Kay in her sit-in series InfluenceThe King shares her long journey, from working in our Vogue to her own creations adorn those same pages.

Talk to Kay, the king shares that, like a true drama, her life and career are a series of acts, each of which includes the constant ghosts of the times that are looming on her. As a teenager, the designer wanted to be an Olympic figure skater, but failed to make the cut. She then acquired the status of Vogue fashion editor shortly after graduating from Sarah Lawrence College in New York, and at the age of 23 she made history along the way.

“I was the youngest woman to be given the title of editor, and probably to this day,” Wang says.

Her time in the magazine lasted 17 years, but like her time on the ice, the king says that her skills didn’t always match her passion. She did not compete in the 1968 Olympic games at Glennoble.

“Some of the things I admire most, by which I mean I am passionately loved, not necessarily in the field I have succeeded,” she says.

It wasn’t until she turned 40 in the Vogue and Ralph Lauren positions that she launched the fashion label with her name. The bridal collection was just the beginning. Eventually, her brand expands to include ready-made feed, shoes, sunglasses, fine jewelry, household items, and even her own Prosecco. Too old for ice skating, the shiny world of magazines has reassessed what her next step is.

“Women were considered transparent at certain ages, even in terms of career,” Wang says. “You’ll be older from your career. I don’t just mean modeling, I don’t just mean being an editor,” she adds, explaining to Kay that it takes some frustration to lengthen these supposed expiration dates. “It’s not about age, it’s about style. That’s how I’ve always felt. I’ve never felt that way.”

When she decided to start with a bridal gown, the king recalls her own approach to weddings. 1989, King Married Investor Arthur P Becker (The two have been separated since), he only had one request from her for the ceremony.

“Don’t come to ‘fashion’. Look like a bride. […] I want you to look like a bride,” the king recalls telling him to her.

She simply isn’t satisfied with the protocol she follows. Melding her Chinese heritage into the ceremony, it was pagan and drawn from both Baptist and Jewish traditions, she accidentally helped to popularize the tendency for brides to slip into the more festive appearance of their receptions.

“I had to change because in Chinese culture you change from the West. [wedding] dress [into a] Chinese dress. But I later changed to a party dress. I started trending in 1989 to change,” Wang says.

The tradition of “go” clothing dates back to the 1930s. In general, it was more comfortable for the bride to wear to say goodbye to the guests. The King’s choice to fall into something more festive has since become wider. Famous Bride – Princess from Wales (Then the Duchess of Cambridge) and Princess EugenieActor Mandy Moore to us – frequently choose a second dress for evening receptions.

What she did at the wedding would come to King Mark’s go-to move to add a dash of disrespect to the normal stifling world of bridal fashion.

“My first client was Ethel Kennedy. My son Max was married and married a beautiful girl who was a law student. I spent eight months in that dress and kicked football with the Kennedy brothers within ten minutes of the ceremony,” Wang says.

The king, now 75 years old, knows her age well, and that age is a topic of conversation around her. She tells Kay that the shift in individuals being more critical of today and themselves has noticed a tendency to condemn the rise of social media. Instead of focusing on the way others saw her as she grew older, the king points out that when she navigated through the various acts of her career and life, she focuses on finding her passion, not what she saw in the mirror. This, she reflects, is a privilege of her age.

“We didn’t have social media and no one would age right in front of you. No one was critical,” she tells the BBC. “It was really about finding your way.” Looking back at the 1990s and 2000s, she added, “I haven’t seen the obsession with aging that I’ve felt over the past 20 years.” Nevertheless, the appearance of the King’s red carpet Social Media Posts Prove that she has not separated from the image she has grown over the years. She is true to the sky-high platform, micromini hemlins and long, lean silhouettes that have characterized designs and personal appearances for decades. She tells Kay that her age doesn’t consider how to dress — and never has it.

Katty Kay will air on Friday at 21:30 ET on the BBC News channel.