Jason Wu
Jason Wu
Jason Wuis a Taiwanese-born Canadian fashion designer based in New York City. He is most famous for designing the dresses of Michelle Obama on several occasions, including during the first and second inauguration of American President Barack Obama...
NationalityCanadian
ProfessionFashion Designer
Date of Birth27 September 1982
CityTaipei, Taiwan
CountryCanada
mean giving dresses
The polishedness and the sophistication were what I was interested in. I mean, give me a polka dot, a floral print, a pleated dress, a big fur coat, that was always my language, and it wasn't very "in" when I was starting out, so I had a difficult time in the beginning.
feminine wanted sculpting
For a while, I just thought that I wanted to be an illustrator because that's all I wanted to do. I also did some sculpting. It was always very artsy and very feminine, everything that I did.
mom antiques taste
My mom used to take me to antique shows, which I hated because everything was so dusty and old and there were all these weird ladies selling their antiques. We call them "eclectic" now. But it was really amazing that I was exposed to that when I was younger. Now that I have my own taste, I understand it more.
character space house
I would love to take an old space and restore it to exactly the way I want it. Like an old factory, just something with great bones and lots of character. I'd take an old house and flip it into something very modern inside, or the other way around.
dad machines pieces
I don't collect things per se, but I do pick up things as I go. Like, in my studio I have an old sewing machine from Germany that my dad gave me, and then something else that I got from a friend in India, and a piece of flooring from one of my shows.
blonde feels know-me
Anyone who knows me knows that I don't know anything about politics. Every time I go to Washington, I feel like I'm in Legally Blonde.
men ideas design
I love the idea of working with women because I always feel like a man designing womenswear needs women around him to really have a sense of what they're doing.
new-york makeup thinking
The idea of transformation is super-important to me. You can see it in the way I approach things. I have never been a clean-faced, freshly scrubbed hair person. I'm the New York designer who doesn't do that. I think about the hair and makeup almost as much as I think about the clothes because it all has to work.
want designer term
As a designer you have to just do whatever you want to do. The second I came to terms with that, it transformed my work.
people steps honest
The worst thing is to be a designer and create work that isn't honest. You have to be honest. Otherwise, you'll always be a reaction to what other people do and you'll always be one step behind.
thinking age comfort
What I was interested in wasn't popular and young, but I never really deviated from doing it. I just decided that I was going to go full force into exactly what I wanted. I think there's a certain comfort that comes with age and experience, and when I got that, I think my work got better.
sleep needs world
I need to feel like I'm part of something. I need to feel part of the world when I go to sleep.
new-york thinking play
I always have the TV on. When there's no TV, I play music. I like having noise. I think that's why New York is so suitable for me, because it's never really fully quiet.
thinking parent able
My parents are very comfortable with the way that I am, and I think they've always been. Without that, I don't think that I would have ever have been able to grow into the person that I am today. I never felt like I was hiding anything from them.