Vera Wang continues to baffle fans with her age-defying appearance after crediting unconventional lifestyle habits for her radiant look.
Approaching her 77th birthday, the fashion designer continues to fuel curiosity about her routine by looking decades younger whenever she appears in public.
On Tuesday (May 12), Wang attended the Breast Cancer Research Foundation party in New York. She donned a pale pink satin dress with a frilled skirt, which she accessorized with sunglasses.
Highlights
- Despite aging backward, Vera Wang enjoys junk food like McDonald's, Dunkin’ Donuts, and pizza.
- Wang credits her youthful look to work, sleep, and a daily vodka cocktail.
- At 76, Wang emphasizes a busy work life keeps her mind, body, and soul young, calling work her "magic elixir."
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The mom of two, known for designing elegant wedding gowns, previously wowed fans with her youthful looks at the Met Gala, where she wore a skin-baring black dress.
In different interviews where was asked how she appears to be aging backward, Wang revealed that she doesn’t follow a strict diet. Instead, she regularly drinks vodka and eats junk food.
Wang said she goes through phases with her meals. “I do eat McDonald's, absolutely, I order it every day, like two weeks on it, and then I'll change,” she told Page Six last year.
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The fashion designer is also a massive fan of Dunkin’ Donuts, particularly its cream-filled, sugar-coated donuts.
“It's cream inside, vanilla cream. I like the pink with sprinkles, too,” she described.
Wang added, "At one point I was eating a slice of Ray's pizza every day, and I never gained a pound on it. It's not a bad thing if you squeeze out that excess oil. It's so filling.”
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With the exception of her vodka cocktails, the designer only drinks water after she gave up drinking Diet Coke in 2006, which she called “the hardest thing I ever gave up."
Though genetics play a role in her youthful looks, the star credits her appearance to “work, sleep, a vodka cocktail, [and] not much sun.”
The cocktail is a non-negotiable for the 76-year-old, who drinks one every afternoon. “I have a vodka at some point after five or six o'clock, towards seven,” she explained.
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Moreover, the New York City native links her busy schedule to her age-defying appearance.
She emphasizes that working keeps your “mind, body, and soul” forever young.
Wang was hired as a fashion editor at Vogue at 23, making her the magazine’s youngest-ever editor. She stayed at the prestigious fashion magazine for 17 years, leaving in 1987 to join Ralph Lauren.
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At 40, she began working independently as a bridal designer. Countless celebrities have turned to Wang for their wedding gowns, including Mariah Carey, Victoria Beckham, and Kim Kardashian.
Eventually, her brand would expand to include ready-to-wear clothing, shoes, sunglasses, jewelry, and home goods.
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In an interview for International Women’s Day, the renowned designer said, “I've been in fashion since I was 19 years old. Not in front of the camera, behind it.
“I never thought about youth, probably because I work with the most beautiful women in the world on a daily basis.
"And because of that I more envision them as my muses, and maybe it's a way of dealing with aging that is productive."
She continued, "So I always said that vodka cocktail, a lot of sleep, but work - work is the magic elixir."
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In a 2024 interview with People, Wang cited Warren Buffett and Queen Elizabeth as examples of people who reflect her wish to “keep prodding on."
Another valuable aspect of her routine is getting nine hours of sleep. Though this isn’t always possible, Wang said she needs “more than six or seven” to avoid feeling tired during the day.
Wang surprised fans when she admitted that she’s not “a huge exercise person.” In 2016, she said she lifted two- and three-pound weights. She also said her favorite sport is golf, noting, "I'm terrible but enthusiastic."
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While she’s “flattered” by people’s frequent compliments on her appearance, Wang said looking youthful has never been her goal.
“I'm confronted with a bit of a moment now where so much has been said about my aging. I just hope that it doesn't supersede my work. It brings up the issue of ageism, and I don't want to be pigeonholed,” she stated.
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Wang told The Daily Mail when she was 73 that she was more "frightened" of physical disabilities limiting her everyday life than of wrinkles forming on her face.
“I'm not totally preoccupied with how I look,” she said. “I love my work, and I'm very passionate about my work, my friends, my daughters... I mean, I have a very full life.”
Wang shares two daughters, Cecilia and Josephine, with her former husband, real estate developer Arthur Becker.
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The designer is known for her lavish birthday bashes, which she said are a rarity among her friends.
"A lot of my friends don't want to. They say, 'I'm too old.' I said, 'It's not about being old. It's about being here and living, and we should celebrate that.’
“You have to celebrate every year that you're alive. That's just how I feel."
