Jason Wu: profile

BY: Claire Connors

Born in Taiwan, Jason Wu immigrated to Canada when he was nine years old, but even at that young age, he knew he wanted to be a fashion designer. Already a talented and tireless illustrator, his parents indulged his burgeoning aspirations by taking him to bridal shops where he could practice sketching the romantic dresses. After much begging, his mother, whom he calls his biggest supporter, bought him a Singer sewing machine. Lacking any life-size mannequins, Wu started small, designing clothes for dolls. That led to a freelance gig in a toy design company where he became the creative director before graduating from high school. “It ended up being a ten-year career in making dolls’ clothing,” explains Wu, 35. “It was my way of arriving at fashion.”

After attending but not graduating from Parsons School of Design, Wu started his own company. Some of his early clients included Ivana Trump and model/activist Amber Valletta, whom you often see sitting front and center at his shows. And in a fashionable full-circle, he worked closely with the fabulous drag queen and TV host, RuPaul, designing costumes for six RuPaul dolls.

But perhaps Wu’s most proud of his close association with former First Lady, Michelle Obama. “I’m an immigrant who made American history,” he says of his career-changing opportunity to design FLOTUS’s first and second inaugural ball gowns, which now hang in the Smithsonian Museum.

Wu’s Fall 2017 line marks his 10th anniversary in the business, but his designs are as fresh as the floral themes in his line for this autumnal season. Easily swinging between Girl-Boss casual suits in black & white plaid and vintage Hollywood glam gowns in shimmery gold velvet and black satin, this season, Wu has got you confidently covered. All we can say is, Wu-hoo!