Jason Wu's empire is growing at a clip. Three seasons ago, the designer introduced accessories to his namesake collection; now he's turning out a larger crop of them than ever, and he's nominated for the Swarovski Award for emerging accessories designer at tonight's CFDA Awards, too. For Resort, he's introduced his first swimwear. It gelled with the summery vibe of his entire collection, inspired by a New Year's trip to Puerto Rico and the vibrant colors of Old San Juan.
Wu is in a scuba state of mind, a not unusual condition among designers of late. The dual influences of sea and sport suffused not only the new bandeau bikini tops and zip-front maillots, but his off-the-sand clothes, too. The delicate blouses he's made a staple came piped with electric yellow trim. Little silk "surf shorts" were paired with Art Deco-ish flower-printed tops in his new twist on the summer suit. And the colors of the collection—not only yellow but coral and Caribbean blue as well—were unmistakably beach-y. His twist on the Baja sweater was a hoodie, but a hoodie classed up à la Wu, in double-faced cashmere with lace trim.
Even with his double-digit growth—this Resort collection, he revealed, is twice the size of last year's—Wu continues to buck against the perception of his work as simply fancy-lady chic. This outing, he said, "is a way to dress my girl down but still have a sense of dressed up." Just one more new frontier for Wu—even if you suspect he's still more comfortable up than down.
