VON FURSTENBERG: I called you. I saw somebody wearing this amazing outdoor sweater with a manifesto on it. I asked the woman wearing it-she was an editor at Vogue-who had made it, and she said, "Alex Wang." That's when I asked you if you'd be willing to design some sweaters for me.
WANG: [laughs] Yes, I remember our first meeting.
VON FURSTENBERG: And then you rejected me.
WANG: I never got a chance to really explain what happened. It was the season that I actually started the line and that sweater you saw was the first prototype we ever made-it's the reverse intarsia with the girl's face on the back. At that point, our production was just getting set up-we weren't even sure where we were going to produce yet. I had just left school, too. So I knew that if I took on other projects. . . .
WANG: The next time we met was probably through the CFDA.
VON FURSTENBERG: I visited your showroom.
WANG: [pauses] Yes. And I was hoping you wouldn't remember what happened.
VON FURSTENBERG: I think it makes the story better! I walked in and it was a complete revelation. The showroom was completely clean and clear. The clothes were simple. There wasn't very much, but every piece was strong-it had a point of view, a reason to be. There was a feeling of walking into a showroom that had such clarity and strength. I was impressed with that. Of course, everyone knows you as this cool guy who the girls like to hang out with [Wang laughs], but what is so impressive is how mature you actually are even though you like to party. How clear, how hardworking, how intelligent, and how very human. . . . And then after you won the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Award, I became your mentor. It's been an absolute pleasure to watch you grow. Tell me what changed in your life after you won that award.
VON FURSTENBERG: What has been the biggest difficulty so far?
WANG: I think predicting what's going to come next. But, in part, that's what I love about fashion. Anything can happen. The next day, everything can change, so it really keeps you on your toes. You always need to be paying attention.
VON FURSTENBERG: Where do you find inspiration for a collection?
WANG: It can be anything. I'm not like most designers, who have to set sail on an exotic getaway to get inspired. Most of the time, it's on my walk to work, or sitting in the subway and seeing something random or out of context.
VON FURSTENBERG: What is your biggest fear?
WANG: I think everyone shares a fear of failure-that you're only as good as your most recent collection. That's definitely a fear, but it's a fear that fuels me, that makes me want to work harder, that makes me take on more challenges. For people to say, "You can't do this or that," or, "You can't work with this person because they are on a different level than you," it makes me want to push myself even harder to try.
VON FURSTENBERG: Who are the three people you admire the most?
WANG: Number one is my mother. She's definitely been the one person in my life who pushed and supported me-
VON FURSTENBERG: I love her, I love her.
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