Vera Wang: Designing woman

(CBS News) Expect a final wave of June weddings today, with at least some of the brides wearing gowns designed by Vera Wang. She's put her own unique stamp on bridal apparel, and this morning Rita Braver will be taking her measure:

Here come the gowns! Vera Wang bridal gowns, to be exact.

And from her new black-and-white fantasies, to her red creations of the past, to more traditional froths of white, Vera Wang has become synonymous with the best in bridal wear.

There's no question about the level of detail that goes into these dresses, hand-made in a New York workshop -- and on display, like museum pieces, at Wang's flagship Madison Avenue boutique.

"You know, every one of these dresses has its own proportion, its own personality, its own balance," said Wang.

And a hefty price tag as well. The average cost: nearly $6,000.

They've been worn by brides like Chelsea Clinton, Kim Kardashian, and Darcy Miller, editorial director of Martha Stewart Weddings.

"I think Vera herself is an icon," Miller told Braver. "I mean, she is Vera, she is forward-thinking. You can count on her to make you really look and feel beautiful in your wedding day, but at the same time you feel modern. I think that's such a delicate balance to strike."

So you might be surprised to learn that Vera Wang did not set out to be a designer. Her first passion was figure skating.

"I fell in love with the freedom, the wind in my face, the gliding," Wang said. "It was something that gave a way to express myself physically and somewhat artistically."

But failing to achieve her dream of making the 1968 U.S. Olympic team was "devastating."

"Here I'd devoted my life, since I was seven years old, to one goal," Wang said. "And for me, falling and picking myself up, and not getting defeated and going back, has been a metaphor for my life -- that everything doesn't or can be easy, and it's about coming back and trying again."

What she wanted to try was fashion.

She went off to study in Paris, but it was NOT a career that pleased her wealthy Chinese immigrant parents -- especially her Dad, who had founded a pharmaceutical company.

"I think he thought it was frivolous, that fashion was frivolous," Wang told Braver. "They had really thought that probably I would, you know, go to Yale Law School."

But upon graduation, she landed a job at Vogue, where she quickly went from assistant, to editor, managing sittings that could sometimes get a little wild -- including a famous one that involved model Christie Brinkley, a Geoffrey Beene dress, and a high-strung Doberman.

"I was afraid he was going to clamp his teeth onto her ankle," Wang recalled, "and instead, he got onto this dress and went insane with the fabric -- started shaking his head and pulling this dress. I don't think Geoffrey Beene ever forgave me!

"But we got the picture."

Wang went on to become fashion director at Ralph Lauren, working long, hard hours. She often described herself as a "fashion nun," somebody who was never going to get married.

"I think Ralph called me that once on a business trip we were on together," Wang said. "He said to me, 'I really want you to get married and have kids.' "

In 1989 she DID marry her longtime boyfriend, businessman Arthur Becker.

It turns out that it was the difficulty of finding a wedding dress she liked that spurred her father to make her an offer:

"He said, 'I will back you if you open a wedding business,' " Wang told Braver -- but not any other kind of design business. "Just a wedding business. He said, 'I think it's time that maybe you have a little bit more control over your life.' "

Which meant, Wang said, that instead of being in the pot, "I jumped into the fire."

CBS Raw Video: Designer Vera Wang talks backstage as she awaits the debut of her latest bridal collection.

Did she ever! And it wasn't just her bridal business that took off; she also designs a high-end couture collection. Her elegant evening clothes have been worn by both Michelle Obama and Jill Biden. And she has entered the lower-priced market, too, with fashions at Kohl's, and a budget brand of wedding gowns at David's Bridal Boutique.

"Were you afraid, by putting Vera Wang out there on a budget level, that that might dilute your higher-level brand?" Braver asked.

"I felt it was very democratic," Wang explained. "A brand doesn't only have to be at a price that's very unattainable and inaccessible for most women."

CBSNews.com special section: The Wedding Planner

In fact, Vera Wang has become a lifestyle brand, with products from eyeglasses to dinnerware.

But she admits it has taken a toll. In 2012 Wang and her husband separated, although she says they are still close friends. And she frankly admits she had a hard time balancing her career and her two daughters, both now young adults

Being a parent, Wang said, "You give up on perfection. You can never make it all right. I once asked my daughters, 'Were you mad I didn't bake the best cupcakes for the class lunch or picnic?'

"And they said, 'No, mom, if you'd been on top of us all the time the way you are in your business, we would've really been annoyed!' was what they said. But I think they were saying that just to be kind."

But she says, she hopes she gave them the sense that you can be both a mom and a career woman.

And Wang seems to savor it all: posing with actress Kerry Washington (wearing her design at a recent party), being hailed as a Chinese American trailblazer, or her most recent honor: the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

But at age 64, Vera Wang works too hard to take any of it lightly.

"I still feel privileged to be able to go on doing what I love best," she said, "when on the other end, there's tremendous responsibility. That never ever leaves my mind."

Photo gallery: Vera Wang bridals, in black and white

For more info:

• verawang.com
• Vera Wang on "Voguepedia"
• Vera Wang - Council of Fashion Designers of America
• "Vera Wang on Weddings" by Vera Wang (William Morrow)