The fashion turned homeware designer, Vera Wang reveals her latest dining collection in partnership with Wedgwood.
While we may know her for her magnificent wedding gowns, Vera Wang has been broadening her horizons, delving into the realm of homewares in a long term partnership with iconic British tableware brand Wedgwood.
Wedgwood is known for its elegant timeless designs and so too is Wang so the partnership seemed like a perfect fit when it began in 2002. Wang has since designed numerous collections for Wedgwood, focusing on creating unique impressions that capture the heritage of this iconic brand but also combine it with her unique eye for design; creating homewares that are timeless yet stylish and will add elegance to the home dining routine.
This year Wang has introduced a new line to her Elements of Style collection. The Vera Jardin collection is a new artistically designed dinnerware collection featuring a new pattern, inspired by Vera’s love of nature. The collection came about after Vera’s recent visit to the Temples at West Lake in Hangzhou, China. The designer was inspired by the lush surroundings and scents of the botanical gardens, and so she created a romantic and delicate gold and bronze leaf pattern that would be the basis of this collection.
Here Vera talks us through the collection and how her passion for homewares has inspired this latest chapter in her career.
What can you tell us about your collections with Wedgwood?
I design each piece with a modern approach to classic style and the attention to detail that is reflected in each of my collections. The collections blend subtlety with sophistication and the results are elegant, timeless and luxurious – live it, enjoy it. Positioned at the highest end of the luxury market, they’re perfect for wedding tableware but are also accessible for people to enjoy using in everyday life. Each range features an artistic, modern and luxurious design and a couture-like quality.
And what about the Vera Jardin collection – what was the inspiration?
Vera Jardin is a new, artistically designed dinnerware pattern inspired by my love affair with nature and flora. The Vera Wang Wedgwood Vera Jardin collection became a vision during my recent visit to the Temples at West Lake in Hangzhou, China. Influenced heavily by the lush surroundings and fragrant botanicals of the gardens, coalesced with my own personal pen and ink Oxalis drawings, I artistically designed a dinnerware pattern that resonates perfectly with Vera Wang Wedgwood’s passionate Romanticists. With fine gold tendrils, bronze petals, and shimmering leaves, these original prints compliment the table on fine white bone china, infusing positive energy into the home.
What is it about the Wedgwood brand that first enticed you to collaborate with them?
I first became interested in collaborating with Wedgwood because they share our deep appreciation for design and unwavering commitment to fine craftsmanship.
How does designing homeware compare with designing fashion?
I love designing because it enables me to express myself in so many mediums and to constantly grow and see something in a new way. It’s not only in the clothing that you wear, it’s in the products that you use. I might take ready-to-wear details and put them on dinnerware. It’s that cross-pollination that gives me a wonderfully unlimited vocabulary which makes for a more exciting design.
Is it something you have always been passionate about that has played a key role in inspiring your work?
I have always been inspired by art – all kinds, all periods.
How do you think trends in home products are affected by fashion trends?
I think designing for the home is really exciting, because the same techniques that we explore in fabrication and design in clothing is what we’re trying to express for the home as well. And I think that’s an extremely modern concept, and a concept that lets us approach design from a totally fresh way.
Can you talk about the appeal of white to you as designer?
I am forever experimenting with white. The marriage of different whites provides depth, dimension and texture without the distraction of colour.
Where do you like to travel for inspiration?
Paris is like my second home, I love the experiences I’ve had there and the beauty of the city always inspires me.
