To those with passing interest, the changes Jason Wu revealed today will be subtle, but to those who have followed his career, they’re quite significant. Wu’s spring presentation — the first non-runway event he’s staged in the better part of his 11-year business — was the debut of Jason Wu Collection and the graphic logo that accompanies it. In the interest of clarifying his brand identity, Wu is streamlining his labels — the contemporary portion, previously known as Grey Jason Wu, will be known simply as Jason Wu.
Jason Wu Collection, his utmost luxury tier, was distilled into 16 dresses presented on mannequins he designed amid luscious wildflower vignettes by Putnam & Putnam.
The collection’s message was clear as a bell, gentle as a whisper: beautifully crafted clothes made to enhance, not overpower, a woman’s femininity and modernity. “There’s no bigger them in this collection,” Wu said. “It’s about 16 dresses that define who I am.” He wanted to express a fragility and rawness that he said felt “very New York,” doing so with a pinstripe slipdress with lace embroidery and a delicate white wisp of a dress with asymmetrical ruffles and eyelet details. All of the silhouettes were slim, graceful and unfussy, building up from neutrals to a vivid palette of green, blue, pale pink and magenta, as well as prints and embroideries that echoed the flowers surrounding the looks. The installation allowed for an up-close appreciation of the clothes without competing with them, which is exactly what Wu wanted.