The secret to Vera Wang’s youthful looks as the fashion designer, 76, who’s ‘ageing in reverse’ shows off her toned abs at the BAFTAs

She was born in the same decade as Robert De Niro, King Charles and Kurt Russell – but you’d be forgiven for mistaking Vera Wang for someone decades younger.

The American fashion designer, 76, who regularly impresses fans with her youthful appearance, showcased her toned physique at the BAFTAs this weekend.

Attending the annual film awards’ nominees’ party on Saturday night, Vera wowed in a midriff-baring look more likely to be seen on a member of Gen Z than a baby boomer.

Consisting of a bandeau cropped top with a matching maxi skirt, she paired the two-piece ensemble with long leather gloves, an oversized black hat, and a dark grey fur hand muff. 

Her sartorial choice was in stark contrast to those made by her same-age peers, such as Dame Helen Mirren, who looked sophisticated in a chic navy cardigan with lace trim and a floral printed skirt at Erdem’s London Fashion Week show this weekend.

But any attempt to pigeonhole Vera – who designed the wedding dresses of some of the world’s most famous faces, including Victoria Beckham, Ariana Grande and Kim Kardashian – into what’s ‘appropriate’ for her age, will be roundly dismissed.

She previously said she finds ageism ‘so old-fashioned’, adding that in life, ‘you have to try and continue to grow in one way or another’.

In a 2022 interview with BBC 100 Women, Vera, who is the chief creative officer of her fashion empire, said her ‘magic elixir’ for staying youthful is work – while also previously admitting that a ‘vodka’ cocktail and ‘nine hours of sleep a day’ help.

Vera has been working in the fashion industry since the age of 18. At 23, she made history as the youngest-ever fashion editor at Vogue, but it wasn’t until nearly 20 years later that she launched her namesake fashion label.

However, perhaps more powerful than work is her approach to beauty – which is not to take it too seriously.

Amazingly, she’s also praised her diet for youthful looks – claiming the secret is vodka, McDonald’s and donuts.

‘I do eat McDonald’s, absolutely, I order it every day, like two weeks on it, and then I’ll change,’ she told Page Six last year.

The wedding dress designer also admitted she enjoys Dunkin’ Donuts, sharing: ‘I like the cream-filled, sugar-coated donut.

‘It’s like a jelly donut, but it’s cream inside, vanilla cream. I like the pink with sprinkles, too.’

The star previously shared in 2020 that her anti-aging secrets included ‘work, sleep, a vodka cocktail [and] not much sun.’

In an interview with People, Vera revealed her ageless beauty comes from sipping on vodka cocktails, getting nine hours of sleep, working, and staying out of the sun.

‘One of the things I am known to like to do is have a vodka cocktail. There’s no question about that, I do. I have a vodka at some point after five or six o’clock, towards seven,’ she explained.

And while she noted that no one ever ‘believed her’, another one of her top tips to stay young was working. 

She insisted that working keeps your ‘mind, body and soul’ forever youthful. Vera also credits her fabulous appearance to her night-time routine, which sees her sleeping nine hours every night.

The star told the outlet that she typically gets around nine hours of sleep. Some nights she gets less, however, she ‘needs more than six or seven’.

Vera revealed that getting enough sleep helps calm her down and pace herself.

She emphasized how crucial rest was while noting that ‘every age has its own set of beauty standards’.

‘I’m very flattered that people think I’ve aged well, but it was never my goal,’ she explained. 

The fashion designer continued: ‘I’m confronted with a bit of a moment now where so much has been said about my aging. I just hope that it doesn’t supersede my work. It brings up the issue of ageism, and I don’t want to be pigeonholed.’

In 2020, Vera went viral for her youthful appearance after sharing snaps of herself posing in a bright orange sports bra and tiny white denim shorts.

Since then, the designer has continued to post photographs of her age-defying outfits, never shying away from super-short shorts and skirts, sky-high heels and crop tops.

Vera said she never thought of ‘going out of my way’ to preserve her youth ‘in a fanatical obsessive way’.

She added that she ‘never thought about youth’ while working in fashion over the last 35 years.

‘Probably because I work with the most beautiful women in the world on a daily basis,’ the designer said.

‘Because of that, I more envision them as my muses. Maybe it’s a way of dealing with ageing that is productive.’

While she balances out her meals between healthy, nutritious whole foods and junk food, Wang is prone to periods of eating the same fast foods every day.

In 2012, she revealed to Harper’s Bazaar that ‘at one point I was eating a slice of Ray’s pizza every day’.

Apart from her nightly vodka cocktail, though, Wang said she only drinks water. She gave up drinking Diet Coke in 2006, which she said was ‘the hardest thing I ever gave up’.

Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail, when she was 73, she said: ‘I think what happens sometimes as you age… I’m more frightened about physical disabilities… not all this.

‘I’m not totally preoccupied with how I look. I love my work, and I’m very passionate about my work, my friends, my daughters… I mean, I have a very full life.’

Vera started her own company at the age of 40 and revealed she felt ‘very lucky’ to have built her own empire.

And while she is now known as a bridal wiz, she hasn’t always been obsessed with the wedding industry.

At eight years old, she trained to be a figure skater but wasn’t successful, so she decided to enter the fashion industry.

She worked at Vogue for 17 years before moving to Ralph Lauren for two years.

After that, she became an independent bridal wear designer and has designed gowns for Ariana Grande, Chelsea Clinton, Ivanka Trump, Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey, Victoria Beckham, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Khloe Kardashian, and Kim Kardashian.