Some inspirations are more fluid than others. The newly funded Jason Wu offered a one-word reference source — beauty — which left his options wide-open. Wu chose wisely, “embracing the roots of American sportswear,” he said backstage before his show.
Though the timing of the sale of a majority stake of his company to InterLuxe is surely coincidental (contract signed this week), coupled with this quite polished collection, it could indicate the designer’s symbolic acceptance of the mantle of prior generations of American greats. That notion on which he leapt to fame but from which he has at times tried to distance himself. Here one could see the influence of two poles of American chic — Bill Blass and Calvin Klein — massaged by Wu into something coherent and fresh. He played tailored against languid, the former, in a shapely suit with denimlike stitching; the latter, a racy beaded plunging dress. One projected elegant dash, the other a hint of decadence (and of Karen Bjornson on the runway). Together, they made perfect sense.
Is “American” code for straightforward? In part, yes — and no dig there. Chic practicality has long been core to the fashion vernacular here. In today’s fashion climate dominated by efficiency and common sense, many brands around the world have taken that page from the American songbook. Wu has the advantage of natural affinity.
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Getting down to business also means focusing on handbags. Wu’s included a small shoulder version designed in collaboration with his friend Diane Kruger. “She actually gave me a hard time,” he explained of the bag’s genesis. “She was like, ‘You have bags named after all your favorite models but I’m, like, your muse.’”