Vera Wang has opened up about ageing and responded to fans’ questions about where the “fountain of youth” is.
During a recent interview with People, the 73-year-old designer recalled how she went viral on Instagram in 2020 after sharing a photo of herself posing in a sports bra and shorts. At the time, fans quickly went to the comments to praise her figure, specifically her abs, and express how “amazing” she looked for her age.
Wang was asked about one comment that she received on her posts, where fans had asked her: “Tell us where the fountain of youth is please.” In response, she noted that this question stems from misconceptions about ageing and praised her peers.
“I guess it’s just that people have an idea of what 70 looks like today. I have so many friends that are 65 to 70 that look fabulous,” she said. “But I have to say that hopefully, it’s a good thing.”
She continued: “I hope it makes women feel more comfortable with themselves or are confident, or there are many definitions of what a woman can be.”
The former Vogue editor also recalled how the photo was first taken in Spring 2020 while she was quarantined with a few colleagues at a house in Miami. Wang said the one thing that she and her then-roommates had in common was that they enjoyed exercising.
“There was a treadmill in our house, and they kept pushing me to get on it. I said, ‘I’m busy watching CNN!” she said. “I was going to get on the treadmill when my design director for mass bridal said to me, ‘We’re selling barrettes. Could you put these in your hair? I’ll take the picture.’”
She noted that right as she told herself that she was “really about to get” on the treadmill, that’s when her colleagues told her that “people [were] talking about” the photo of her. At the time, she said that she asked her friends what they were talking about, to which they responded: “You. In an orange workout top with white jeans shorts.”
Wang described how she didn’t understand the online interest in her outfit.
“Now, it was like 90 degrees in Miami, I wasn’t going to wear a turtleneck sweater! We just all looked at each other and said, ‘Are you kidding?’ Just didn’t really get it,” she explained.
The wedding dress designer continued to describe her confusion and said that fans haven’t had this big of a reaction to her other looks at big-name events.
“I’ve been to the Met Gala. I’ve gone to the Oscars. It’s crazy,” she said. “Seriously, when I say to people, ‘I don’t get it.’ If we planned something like this, it would’ve never happened.”
During an interview with BBC 100 Women in March 2022, she emphasised how surprised she was when her 2020 photo went viral.
“I was really shocked, I have to be very honest,” she said. “I didn’t think of myself as being particularly risqué.”
However, she noted that she was “grateful” when people praised her abs and called those remarks “very complimentary”.
Elsewhere in the conversation, she critcised ageism as “so-old fashioned” and noted that she won’t let the misconceptions around ageing impact her.
“I never thought about going way out of my way to preserve my youth in a fanatical, obsessive way,” Wang added.
