This article has been updated to include an interview with Vera Wang.
Vera Wang is selling her namesake brand after 35 years in business.
Management group WHP Global has acquired the IP of the brand, the companies announced Monday. As part of the deal, Wang will stay on as founder and chief creative officer of the label, while joining WHP as a shareholder. The group also owns fashion labels including Rag & Bone, G-Star, Isaac Mizrahi, Anne Klein, Bonobos and Joe’s Jeans, kids retailer Toys R Us and, as of June, mall brand Express. Terms of the Vera Wang deal were undisclosed.
“It’s exciting, it really is,” says Wang over the phone. “It was the right combination for me and at the right time. WHP is in full growth mode, and there’s such an energy within what they’re doing and their ambition, passion and dedication, and I really feel very fortunate that they believe so much in me and my brand.”
“Vera Wang is a legend. Her name is synonymous with modernity, artistry and impeccable style. We are honoured to partner with Vera Wang and look forward to building on the brand’s remarkable legacy with new business opportunities around the world,” said Yehuda Shmidman, chairman and CEO of WHP Global, in a statement.
Wang, 75, got her start in fashion with a job at Vogue and also spent time at Ralph Lauren before deciding to launch a bridal line. The Vera Wang brand has been independently owned since its founding in 1990, with Wang as the sole owner and reporting more than $700 million in annual sales, according to the company. What started as a single bridal salon in The Carlyle hotel grew to a fully fledged lifestyle brand. Wang introduced ready-to-wear in 2000, has launched homeware, jewellery, fragrance and shoe categories and partnered with Kohl’s and David’s Bridal on diffusion lines. Her bridal looks are a celebrity favourite: she’s designed wedding dresses for a long list of star clients, including Ariana Grande, Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez, Mariah Carey, Uma Thurman and Vanessa Hudgens.
WHP Global was formed in 2019, and is a private equity-backed firm created to license and grow consumer brands. With the acquisition of Vera Wang, WHP is creating a premium fashion vertical with the likes of Rag & Bone, Joe’s Jeans and G-Star. The company’s portfolio does over $7 billion in global sales. With the partnership, Wang says her primary focus is to expand geographically, mainly in China, where she has seven stores already, as well as in the Middle East and Latin America — all opportunities she identified but said she couldn’t move on herself. There’s also potential hotels, condos and “experience businesses” she plans to explore to build out her lifestyle portfolio.
