It’s been three years since Jason Wu took on the creative direction of Boss. As an employee coming into a house and big business, he said he felt obliged to work Boss’ strict tailored DNA, at least to a point. “It was always like this,” said Wu, backstage drawing a box in the air. “After three years, last season I felt a little freer.” His fall collection for the label was definitely his strongest and most memorable, as he politely stopped being so reverential to house history and let his own creative instincts take hold.
Wu did so even more for spring with a bright, sporty, soft collection that utilized David Hockney saturated colors for punchy energy and architectural lines that honored a woman’s curves. The Boss lineup this season also had the most in common it ever has with Wu’s own collection — bold color, floral embroidered lace and lace tank dresses — which wasn’t a bad thing at all.
He tackled tailoring by loosening it up, cutting blazers oversized with bunched sleeves fasted with utility straps and worn over fluid pants or high-waisted, pleated shorts for a laid-back polish emboldened by combinations of cobalt blue, red, white and kelly green. The colors were intense yet not intimidating on the manageable sporty looks. The bolds were particularly harmonious on pleated slipdresses done in softly color-blocked panels of color and sheer nudes, as well as on a dynamite pair of sporty, curvy dresses — one red, one green — with high necklines, mid-length skirts and athletically sensual cutouts around the shoulders and waist. Being a Boss lady is looking very good.