Post date: Feb 09, 2013 12:43:4 AM
Designer Jason Wu embraces beauty for Fall 2013 with luxuriously feminine clothes - think mink, fox or snakeskin trim - and his first makeup line.
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 08, 2013) (REUTERS) - Designer Jason Wu knows what women want. He cut extremely feminine clothes for Fall 2013 with luxurious fabrics, fur and snakeskin trim, which he showed on Friday (February 8) at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York.
Wu spoke backstage with Reuters Television about the thinking behind his fall collection."The inspiration was really the woman," Wu said. "And I, instead of going for a particular theme or mini reference points, this season was really about beautiful clothes - scrumptious, luxurious, beautiful clothes that women want to wear."
For his first runway look, he framed the face with a wide funnel neck on a black satin twill and velvet trench coat with fox fur pockets.
An A-list crowd of fashionistas, including Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of American Vogue, turned out in Friday's snowstorm, ignoring the forecast for a blizzard, and packed the elegant Park Avenue space to watch his show.
Wu shot to fame when First Lady Michelle Obama chose his white one-shouldered gown in 2009 to wear to the inaugural ball. He made fashion history last month when the first lady chose his design again - a red halter gown - to wear to the inaugural ball marking the start of her husband's second term. Both gowns have been donated to theSmithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C.
Mickey Boardman, editorial director of Paper magazine, spoke with Reuters Television about designer Jason Wu's place in fashion.
"The first time she wore it, it really made him a star," Boardman told Reuters Television, referring to Mrs. Obama's choice of the then-obscure designer's ballgown. "And now this time, it cemented his place on the top rung of fashion, along with people like Michael Kors, Oscar de la Renta. And so since this is his first show since then, really the fashion press are really going to be looking to see, 'Has he really got it? Is it a fluke?' Or is Mrs. Obama right in saying that he is one of the biggest names in American fashion?"
Slim belts, the kind often worn by the first lady, cinched the waists of his tailored coats and shapely dresses with pleated skirts.
On the eve of Chinese New Year, Wu celebrated his heritage and the Year of the Snake by showing some sexy short dresses featuring snakeskin.
Wu, who was born in Taiwan and raised in Canada, talked with Reuters Television about his use of snakeskin and fur. One dress repeated the snake motif through a print on silk chiffon.
"Mixing, for example, the water snake with printed water snake so that you couldn't discern the difference between the real skin and chiffon. But you could see through the skin just a little so that you see a little bit of the leg. That was such a beautiful little moment there," Wu told Reuters Television. "Or a fur jacket that was made out of, composed of mink and fox. I mean, it was just like a big puff of gorgeousness."
Under a huge chandelier, his collection of mostly black, white and bone - with pops of red - looked like a valentine in motion.
He saved the best for last. The finale gown in violet pleated silk seduced the eye with a sheer back from neck to the waist.
Wu told Reuters Television that he used restraint with the variety of colors to keep the focus on the woman - and on his first make-up line for Lancome.
"I wanted the color palette to be few and really spare, but really strong," Wu said. "And those are some of my favorite colors. The black, white and red and the violet. The violet was seen through every girl's eye. This is my first make-up collection I am doing withLancome. So we did a purple eye on every girl, and do the finale with a purple dress seemed so special."
With this collection, Wu proved that he knows the way to a woman's heart is through her clothes.
Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week will continue in New York through Valentine's Day (February 14).