By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
June 20, 2001
The day Danielle Cantieri decided on a wedding dress was the ultimate in mother-daughter bonding. With a vague idea of what she wanted, Cantieri slipped into a strapless, princess-cut number adorned with delicate rows of Austrian crystal.
It felt good.
Cantieri then got validation that she had found The Dress: Her mom cried. So did her aunts.
“They didn’t cry for any of the others,” says the 25-year-old Elmwood Park resident, who wed on May 12. “I didn’t know it was a Vera Wang dress when I tried it on. When I found out that it was, I was really happy, because I had always wanted to be married in one of her dresses.”
Like thousands of brides, Cantieri succumbed to the Wang mystique. Just two years after launching her line, Wang–a former competitive skater–won worldwide attention for the simple, elegant creations she designed for Nancy Kerrigan at the 1992 Olympics.
Today, Wang’s name is synonymous with wedding gowns and she is a celebrity favorite. Holly Hunter, Uma Thurman, Sharon Stone, Mariah Carey and Karenna Gore wore her creations on their big day.
The famous names didn’t impress Anne Gardner, 27, so much as the cut of Wang’s dresses.
“Shopping for a wedding dress isn’t like shopping for anything else,” says the Gold Coast resident, who’ll walk down the aisle in a Wang gown this September “You tell them what you want, and they bring out all these dresses that fit that description. But a lot of times what you describe isn’t really what’s best for you. I ended up taking a peek in the [store’s backroom] and I found the dress. It was simple, but elegant, and it looked like something I would wear. I’ve been to weddings where the bride walks in and she’s hidden underneath all this lace and sequins and I’m thinking, ‘Who is that woman?’ ”
At 5-feet, 2-inches tall, Gardner found that many of the dresses she tried on, including those by Richard Tyler and Carolina Herrera, overpowered her small frame. The Wang gown fit her perfectly.
“Her dresses make you feel beautiful without hiding who you are,” she says. “I got my bridesmaids’ [black] Vera Wang dresses. They’re so happy because they actually can wear these dresses after the wedding, unlike a lot of other bridesmaid dresses that can only be worn on Halloween.”
Wang’s spring 2002 collection concentrates on color, featuring eight types of white, from oyster to pearl, to marble and bone. Other nuances came in the form of square buttons and rigid, structured cowl necks. Her collection includes a Dior-inspired strapless gown embellished with beaded ferns on tulle overlay.
“Even her biggest critic will admit that Vera Wang added a whole new dimension to bridal gowns,” says Nancy Gussin, owner of downtown’s Exclusives for the Bride. “Her creations are unique. The look of bridal gowns has changed because of her. They are simple, elegant and understated. She’s getting more elaborate now with lace and beading, but her look is always classic and timeless. She doesn’t just stop with innovative cuts. Vera also introduces new fabrics like zibeline, which lays smoother than tafetta and is heavier than your standard silk. She also introduced this combination of silk, satin and organza. She was also the first to incorporate illusion sleeves on her wedding dresses to create an illusion of being bare without being bare.”
But Wang’s creations aren’t for those who dance with pennies. Though she recently introduced a line that starts at $2,000, her couture collection begins at $5,000.
Considering her popularity, it’s surprising that Wang’s creations have yet to be knocked off.
“I suppose it’s bound to occur one day, but her dresses are more than about just the name,” says Gussin. “The reason her gowns are so in demand is because of the exquisite workmanship, the gorgeous fabrics and the way the dresses fit women. If someone tried to knock them off, they’d have a hard time doing it cheaply because her workmanship really is fantastic. She raised the bar for wedding gowns. She set a standard for what the look should be like.”
Not all brides are overpowered by Wang’s creations. When Leigh Ann Hirschman wed three years ago, the Lincoln Park resident wore a Carolina Herrera gown.
“I was surprised to find that the silk [used on] at least a couple of [the Vera Wang] dresses that were on display felt light and thin,” says Hirschman. “The dresses were beautifully cut. But for several thousand dollars, I thought that the silk should have been heavier and more substantial.”
