I think it is a lack of creativity (paradoxically) when a designer branches out into a thousand different directions. It is an inability to do one thing well, hoping that different (very different) categories will provide the variety and interest lacking in the individual pieces.
These few years have certainly been the year of the Wang. I wonder how long she will last? She has enough of a fashion empire and following that she will continue to hold her position indefinitely (probably at a slightly lower level, and a little out of the limelight), and she's clever enough that she'll come up with (or her team will come up with) some interesting items to keep her viable.
To her advantage (does she know this and is exploiting it to the fullest?), the contemporary public that she caters to has lower standards of beauty and craftsmanship. Since ugliness is one of the elements that our modern world advocates (along with shock factor, a constant need for new things, and a disdain for traditionally crafted objects), Wang probably won't have a difficult time convincing women that indeed wrapping grey, crinkled chiffon around ones shoulders is a very modern (i.e. a very good) fashion statement.
Wang also subtly copies other designers. Closer inspection of even those "borrowed" ideas shows that her rendition are below par to the originals. We all have a limited set of materials to work with, and all creators and inventors leap off what their predecessors have done. But, the finished product should be: a). better than its inspiration, and b). demonstrably different, so that one doesn't get called out for plagiarism. I think Wang is skimming pretty close to crossing these lines.
Her bridal gowns do have a certain ostentatious quality about them, but again, I think that is a strategy she uses to detract from their lack of craftsmanship and creativity, and ultimately, beauty.
Below I compare Wang's gowns with those by other designers to show her "borrowing" strategy. And I also show the subtle lack of finesse which our crass, modern public cannot detect.
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dress with similarities to Renee Zellweger's
2005 Carolina Herrera Oscar dress
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it is strange that Wang would make a dress so similar to it.
The odd protrusions at the breasts, especially pronounced
in Wang's version, and the sculptured bodice detract from
the flow of the dresses.
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dress for Sofia Vergara
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at the back, especially pronounced in Sandra's dress.
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side train, the darker red chiffon protruding from underneath, make
this an oddly designed dress. I think it looks superficially attractive,
as do many of Wang's gowns, but closer inspection always reveals
oddities, such as the ones I've outlined. But this dress works because
the actress - Sofia Vergara - is attractive, with a well-shaped body. Wang
is clever at finding the right model to display her goods.
Just poof it up, and voila, you've got a wedding dress!
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- The dress on the left is what Wang designed for Kim Kardashian's wedding.
- The middle dress is one Wang designed for Kate Hudson in the movie "Bride Wars"
- Chelsea Clinton wore Wang's "mounds of chiffon" for her wedding dress
I don't know how Wang got to be so successful, other than her aggressive strategy of being all over the place at once. She also clearly pushes her products in as many magazines as possible (even the prestigious ones like Vogue have taken on her cause). And her items displayed on department store shelves, especially her perfumes, gives her name recognition.
This is, I think, a new style of competition (and goods) we are to expect from Asians in higher levels of society of this multicultural world of ours. I see this everywhere, from store managers, university and college instructors, film and literary producers, even construction workers (my neighborhood is filled with Chinese construction workers who don't even speak English). Even the internationally, the Chinese keep taking bold steps.