Jason Wu: East Meets West

If there’s anything I love most, it’s an Eastern fashion designer, so I have been particularly excited about Jason Wu’s Spring / Summer 2012 collection for New York Fashion Week.

Taiwanese-born American fashion designer, Jason Wu, is an exciting force in the fashion world because unlike simply Eastern or Western designers, Wu merges the influence of both cultures.

True to the silhouettes of his Autumn / Winter 2011 collection, Wu maintains a streamlined body contour, with tight fitting under-layers reminiscent of the Azzendine Alaia collections of the ’80s, but in his latest collection specifically, Wu counters the effect of his bodycon basics with a typically Eastern deconstructionist approach to the outer layer.

In this Spring / Summer collection, many of Wu’s designs consist only of a single fitted garment, but those models that sport a number of garments were particularly exciting; as Wu combines the Western philosophy of the feminine aesthetic and the Eastern philosophy of deconstruction, his overall outcome reaches a new dimension. Whilst breaking away from the total deconstruction of Eastern predecessors, Japanese designers Watanabe, Yamamoto, and Kawakubo, Wu maintains an element of the monochrome and the space between fabric and body. However, the occasional splash of pinks and yellows, and the beautiful evening gowns of the Spring / Summer 2012 collection epitomise the Western aesthetic of emphasising the feminine form, as the dresses accentuate the hips of their models.

 Jason Wu’s intricate designs are a force to be reckoned with. He has it all; elegant feminine evening wear to compete with the likes of Valentino, and minimalist monochrome daywear to match the impact of earlier Japanese designs. I don’t doubt the talent of this designer and already eagerly anticipate the next collection.