Over the course of her career, Vera Wang has grown a single bridal boutique into a fashion and lifestyle empire that spans a wide range of product categories — ranging from engagement rings and ready-to-wear to dinner plates and cosmetics — at a variety of price points from luxury to mass market.

After graduating college Vera was hired at Vogue as a rover but quickly worked her way up the ladder, becoming one of the magazine’s youngest ever fashion editors. She left Vogue and, in 1987, joined Ralph Lauren . Two years later, while planning her wedding, Vera had an epiphany. There wasn’t anything, either a retail situation or a couture designer that really satisfied the needs of modern brides.

In 1990, she opened her own bridal boutique on Madison Avenue that brought fashion to the bridal industry. The retail value of goods bearing Vera Wang’s name is estimated to be upwards of $1 billion per year.