Jason Wu shows us who's boss of the runway
The designer knows a thing or two about how to succeed in the fashion industry
JASON WU OCCUPATION: Fashion designer
DEFINING MOMENT: “It would be that first inauguration. It was really special because it was a moment when the world was watching, and it felt magical. Something like that had never happened [in American politics]. It was a sentimental moment; you can’t really replicate that.”
WORDS OF ADVICE: “Put in the work. It can be easy to get caught up in the glamour, but it’s important to keep your feet on the ground. You can’t forget the work. In the end, that’s what it’s about.”
There are two kinds of people in the world - those who rest on their laurels after achieving something as impressive as dressing the American first lady for her husband's inauguration, and those who chalk it up as just another milestone in an illustrious career and keep moving onwards and upwards.
Jason Wu is of the latter group - and he's making the rest of us look bad.
"It was a very important moment for me," says the Taiwanese-Canadian designer who, at the age of 26, managed to do what many designers can only dream of - dress the first lady of the United States for her husband's first-term presidential inauguration ball in 2009. Michelle Obama had already worn one of Wu's creations - a US$3,510 silk dress for an appearance on ABC's The Barbara Walters Special, an occasion that many refer to as the launch of the designer's career.
It put his name on the sartorial map, at least. Having started his eponymous line, Jason Wu, in 2006, the designer was still relatively unknown at the time, but Obama's continued support quickly catapulted him to household-name status.
Nevertheless, Wu wants more. "I don't want to just be a one-hit wonder," he says. "A career can't be made out of one event. I want many more hits."
Wu has enjoyed many more of those in the years since the Obama inaugural dress. Fashion houses started paying attention to his label and, in June last year, Wu was asked to be an art director at German fashion brand Hugo Boss. In his new role, Wu is responsible for overseeing the brand's womenswear collections, and this is where his signature clean lines and easy elegance come into play.
"With this job, [it's about] setting the stage for BOSS womenswear in a new way," he says. "The company has such a rich heritage and DNA, but the women's collection is very young. My job here is to give the womenswear a definite voice and to do it in a way that's honest and true - respectful of what the company is about."