Here to stay

Alexander Wang's 2011-12 ready-to-wear collection at New York Fashion Week.

Designer Alexander Wang's meteoric global rise and expansion into China do not necessarily fly in the face of his claim that he's 'never worked anywhere'. Gan Tian reports.

Despite having a "golden resume" with such names as Parsons School of Design, Marc Jacobs and the world's top fashion magazine Vogue, Alexander Wang insists he "never worked anywhere".

He learned, rather than labored, during his time at global fashion behemoths, he explains. And he's had exceptional opportunities for field study.

The 29-year-old's Vogue internship was under the famous Anna Wintour - the infamous "devil" in The Devil Wears Prada.

She invited him to her office and said he's "sure to succeed", while offering her "full support". Wintour frequently visits Wang's studio to offer advice.

"It's experience but not actual work experience," Wang says.

"It's really about the learning experience of every place I've been. It helped me realize you define your own journey along the way."

This outlook explains why the internships at Marc Jacobs and Vogue came after Wang dropped out of Parsons - the cradle of such giants as Marc Jacobs, Donna Karan and Tom Ford - in his sophomore year in 2005 to launch his first collection, a line of five unisex sweater samples.

"I didn't complete school but I wasn't taking a risk," he says. "I was seizing opportunities to try something different. It was just my sister and me. But look at us now - we're opening a store in Beijing."

He speaks while slung over a black-fur sofa in his recently opened boutique, clad in tight pants and a loose black T-shirt from his label.

It was Wang's first full women's wear collection that shot him to fame two years after he dropped out of school.

He won the 2008 Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA)/Vogue Fashion Fund Award in the women's wear category.

The award came with $200,000 - a pretty chunk of change for someone who has "never worked anywhere".

Wang designs slim-cut pants, loose black shirts and uppers, and leather bags and gloves. His creations are adored not only by Western starlets, such as Lindsay Lohan, Mandy Moore and Ashlee Simpson, but also by China's A-list actresses.

His Beijing boutique's opening party attracted the country's top models - Du Juan, Lu Yan and Pei Bei. Foreign fashion icons Zoe Kravitz, Penn Badgley and Hamish Bowles flew to Beijing for the celebration.

It was this time in 2011 that Belgian-American fashion designer and CFDA president Diane von Furstenberg opened her Beijing boutique. Her reason, she says, is that she has seen the rise of so many Chinese-American fashion designers in New York, including Wang, in the past five years.

"Wang is extremely talented with his minimal garments," she says. "He can fully develop the beauty of a woman."

Wang says he's often asked about the ascendancy of Chinese-American designers.

"I can't answer that," he says.

"I can only tell my own story. There's such a community of young designers in New York with so much support from CFDA or Vogue. It has brought a lot of attention to Asian designers, especially coming from New York. I feel very blessed to be part of that group."

Wang insists his Chinese background doesn't influence his designs, and he refuses to incorporate elements from his ancestral homeland in his lines.

"I believe our customers are much more global citizens," he says.

"I wouldn't do something so stereotypical. I know who I am, but I take more inspiration from the experiences of how I grew up."

Wang was born in Los Angeles, the casual beach culture of which deeply influenced him. Women change clothes frequently at the seaside and prefer easy-to-wear garments. That colored Wang's penchant for black, rather than prints, he says.

He moved to New York at age 18 and started his "learning experiences".

"I'm based in New York but don't design for people who live in New York," he says.

"It's something much broader - more of a sensibility. It's the idea that I'm from a generation connected through culture, music and other experiences. It's not about background."

And he insists ancestry has nothing to do with his China market entry.

"Actually, I haven't been so close to what's happening in China," he says.

"But isn't that why we're here? Once here, we'll move to Hong Kong and Shanghai."

As a businessman, he sees a fast-growing market. Wang says it is going to be a big year of expansion, especially in Asia.

After his Beijing trip, Wang will open two new stores in Shanghai and make a temporary shop in Hong Kong permanent. He then plans to open boutiques in Bangkok, Singapore, Tokyo and South Korea.

Wang will also engage in e-commerce in China, he says. "It's the right time."

"All my pieces are coming together. I'm happy with the results When I see a woman walking in the street in my dress, I feel connected with her. I believe there are more women connected with me here in China."