Jason Wu 1982-Present

Jason Wu 

(1982-Present)

Biography

Being born in the capital of Taipei in 1982, Jason Wu grew up in the midst of the industry. Wu took an early interest in fashion by observing and sketching bridal gowns from the windows of stores in his city. At age 9, young Jason and his family moved to Vancouver, Canada, where Wu learned English allowing him to expand his knowledge of fashion as well. 

Having an artistic streak, Wu was sent to Tokyo to study sculpting at 14, and immediately moved to Massachusetts afterwards where he attended Eaglebrook School and then Chaffee boarding school in Connecticut until he completed his high school career. 

In 1998, at only 16 years of age, Wu submitted sketches to the company Integrity Toys for which he designed both clothes and accessories for dolls. His collection for Fashion Royalty Dolls was later shown in the annual Toy Fair in 2001. But fashion for dolls was only the small beginning for what Wu had aspired. During his senior year, Wu went off to Paris to pursue his career in Fashion Design. 

Like many known designers of the time, Wu attended Parsons School of Design but left 6 months before graduating for an internship with Narciso Rodriguez. 

In 2005, Wu presented a design for a RuPaul Doll which showed this queen of drag in a tiny, red vinyl corset and red platforms. 

A year later, the label Jason Wu was launched and in 2008 Wu was awarded with the Fashion Group International Rising Star Award for women's ready-to-wear fashion. That same year, First Lady Michelle Obama wore a Jason Wu dress for the inaugural ball, placing Wu at a historic level in the fashion world. 

In 2010, Wu released his accessories collection which included eyewear, shoes, and handbags. Bringing forward his new design signature with grey soles. This collection later landed him as a nominee for the accessory design award for the Council of Fashion Design of America. 

In January 2013, Michelle Obama chose a Wu dress once again, this time a sparkling red dress for Barack Obamas second inaugural ball. 

Recently, Wu has released the Miss Wu, a more affordable collection for Nordstrom which has already shown great success. 

Critical Analysis


Being such a young designer and having come so far in the fashion world so quickly, I feel that Jason Wu is definitely an icon. Not only in the fact that he made his first impression on the world with a dress worn by the First Lady, but his designs are very classic and timeless. 

Wu uses such neat cuts and beautifully drapes the silhouette of the female body which I think will always be a classic look, and I can see any of his designs being worn years from now. 

I feel that his designs are very iconic for the zeitgeist and history of our generation because they were not only worn by the First Lady, but the wife of the first African American President, which will forever be in history books. 

Wu's name is definitely not going away ever. And he is such a young designer, and a huge inspiration to young, aspiring artists such as the students at FIDM.