Vera Wang was "totally shocked" when a picture of her wearing a sports bra went viral.
Vera Wang (c) Instagram
The 71-year-old fashion designer has admitted she didn't expect the reaction to her wearing the Palm Angels underwear, showcasing her taut abs, to blow up the internet because the intention was for the focus to be on a pair of crystal hair clips.
She told PEOPLE: "I was totally shocked.
"To be perfectly honest, the real goal of that picture was [to feature] the hair clips I had in my hair. And hair clips don't exactly show up that well in a picture. So we really had to minimise whatever I was wearing and to keep the focus on my hair and those crystal clips. And the fact it became about my Palm Angels workout top was so crazy."
Her washboard stomach in the snap prompted one fan to comment: "I need my stomach to be like yours. What's your routine?"
Prompting Wang to reply: "Work, sleep, a vodka cocktail, not much sun."
The designer insisted she is used to the Hollywood stars she dresses being centre of attention and found the whole thing bizarre.
She continued: “I’m sort of the one that always puts the women I dress upfront. I am a fashion designer. And I have dressed some of the most amazing women over the last 30 years on the red carpet when they’ve actually won Oscars or Golden Globes or Emmys. And so I’m always the one pushing them out the door, and fixing their train at the Met Gala.”
She added: "Even my years at Vogue as a sittings editor [she worked at the magazine for 16 years before transitioning to design], I created a lot of the pictures and was always behind the camera. So I always thought of myself as somebody who, in all fairness, was the creator and not the subject matter. So it was sort of shocking. I can’t lie to you."
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