The path ahead was so unclear. Vera Wang was 40 years old and standing at a crossroads. She had spent 17 years at Vogue as an editor, then 2 years at Ralph Lauren. Yet, despite the comfort and the status these jobs offered, Wang chose to leave her established career behind. With no formal training in design, she started her own fashion design business. And it all started because she was getting married.

Vera Wang had gotten engaged to Arthur Becker. They were going to have an interfaith Baptist and Jewish ceremony. Wang was searching for a wedding dress that would suit her tastes. She had looked everywhere from department stores to Chanel couture. But everyone just sold bridal dresses that were traditional and made you look like princesses.

Wang wanted a modern touch

So she began to design her own bridal dress. With encouragement and funding from her father, she made it into a business. She opened a store and started selling bridal dresses.

And it was difficult as hell. Everything was ambiguous. She didn’t know if she would survive. 

• Wang had no formal design training
• She lacked experience in running any sort of business
• Retail store fronts are risky
• There were no big successes in bridal wear
• No big name fashion designer paid any attention to bridal wear
• Bridal wear inherently meant no repeat business
• And Wang had not only sunk all her savings into the venture, she had taken money from her Dad as well

On top of it all, Wang wasn’t selling bridal dresses that others were selling. Her dresses had an unproven modern slant. Her dresses were not always white, she sold red and black bridal dresses as well!

The ambiguity would make anybody nervous. But Wang embraced the ambiguity. Because for the first time she felt like she was doing what she was born to do.

Wang thought that she was finally making a difference. Instead of just writing about others who were making a difference.

It wasn’t all bad, there were good omens as well

• Wang was encouraged by the fact that almost everyone marries. Which meant a steady stream of customers. 
• These are customers who would spend more for their one special dress than any other evening gown. 
• Bridal wear stores needed lower inventory, which meant lower costs. 
• And Wang knew that just like her, there were a lot more women who wanted modern and sophisticated wedding gowns for their big night.

It was precisely the ambiguity that gave her solace. As Joseph Campbell says: “If the path before you is clear, you’re probably on someone else’s.”

The unclear path ahead indicated to Wang that she was on her own unique path.

If she had copied an established designer, her journey might have been easier. She could have replicated proven models, designed ready-to-wear collections, or focused on traditional evening gowns. But she would never have created her unique niche in fashion or become the household name she is today.

Be ok with ambiguity

Facing ambiguous situations forces you to grow. But psychologically, ambiguity is unsettling because it triggers uncertainty and our minds interpret it as a threat.

So how can you be ok with ambiguity?

1. Ambiguity in path, clarity in destination

If you have zero clarity on what you want to do as well as how to do it, then the uncertainty will feel aimless as well as overwhelming. This is bad ambiguity.

Good ambiguity requires clarity about your destination. You need to anchor down your end goal.

Wang knew that she wanted to create fashion and not write about it all her life. She wanted to have an impact. And when she had trouble finding her own dream wedding dress, she knew that she wanted to modernize bridal fashion!

That was enough: this clarity gave her a psychological anchor that allowed her to navigate through uncertainty.

You don’t need grand visions. Just a small amount of clarity on your destination.

2. Iterative exploration

Wang didn’t unleash black wedding dresses on the world in her first year! In fact, she didn’t even sell her own dresses exclusively from her store. She curated and bought wedding dresses from other European fashion designers and sold it. Along with these dresses, she would showcase just one of her own creations.

Then it would be two of her creations, then three and so on. Till the whole store had nothing but Vera Wang dresses!

When she started becoming a brand in bridal wear, she explored a bit more and started selling wedding accessories and fragrances. Her whole process was extremely iterative. Which made navigating uncharted waters easier.

The result? She became the most famous bridal dress designer. Women clamour to wear her designs for their big day. Everyone from Mariah Carey to Ivanka Trump to Kim Kardashian bought a Vera Wang bridal dress when they got married! 

Action Summary:

• Accept that growth often feels uncomfortable, and that’s ok. Be ok with ambiguity. Because ambiguity is not a sign of failure, it’s a sign of uniqueness.

• Don’t fall headfirst into ambiguity however. Anchor yourself down with a vision, some small amount of clarity about your destination. And then explore the unknown step by small step.