Vera Wang never set out to become a groundbreaking bridal designer — her first dream in life was to be an Olympic figure skater. After failing to qualify for the U.S. team in 1968, Wang instead ...

Nancy Kerrigan . Wang had been designing bridal for several years when she was approached by Nancy Kerrigan’s coach, with whom she’d skated, to make the figure skater’s costumes.

Vera Wang reflects on 30 years of designing Olympic figure skating costumes for the likes of Nathan Chen and Evan Lysacek in this exclusive interview.

The opposite was true of Wang’s next male figure skating client: Nathan Chen, the 22-year-old gold-medal hopeful and star of the 2022 Winter Olympics. View this post on Instagram.

She became a competitive skater, dabbled in speed skating and competed in pairs at the 1968 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. It was there that Wang's Olympic dream came to an end.

Skating guided her to fashion, and fashion ultimately guided her back to skating. In the early 1990s, Wang began designing costumes for Olympic figure skaters, dressing medal-winners like Nancy ...

Skating guided her to fashion, and fashion ultimately guided her back to skating. In the early 1990s, Wang began designing costumes for Olympic figure skaters, dressing medal-winners like Nancy ...

Vera Wang reflects on 30 years of designing Olympic figure skating costumes for the likes of Nathan Chen and Evan Lysacek in this exclusive interview.

Vera Wang reflects on 30 years of designing Olympic figure skating costumes for the likes of Nathan Chen and Evan Lysacek in this exclusive interview.

Vera Wang reflects on 30 years of designing Olympic figure skating costumes for the likes of Nathan Chen and Evan Lysacek in this exclusive interview.