Dan Flavin's early work—the single color canvases, not the fluorescent lights he's famous for—lined Jason Wu's Pre-Fall mood board. They gave him his strong, saturated color palette, and informed the very subtle detailing of what is Wu's most minimal lineup yet. A year after joining Hugo Boss as artistic director, Wu's signature collection has been streamlined and overhauled. It's hard to imagine the woman who'll wear these clothes fussing about with the glossy eelskin stripes, gold bugle beads, and disco vibes of his Pre-Fall collection from last year. But if a certain no-nonsense sensibility infused the new clothes, if Wu has shrugged off fun, he hasn't abandoned luxury. The standout piece here was a sleeveless sheath in fine plonge leather in an emerald green so deep it was almost black, with a wraparound bodice and a deep front slit. Wu believes in the simplicity and sophistication of that silhouette, and it rematerialized in double-face cashmere embellished with tiny hand-tacked slits like the tracery lines on Flavin's paintings. He used the same double-face material for a shawl-collared tuxedo with wide-legged trousers that will be as comfy as your favorite sweats. A beaded T-shirt dress didn't measure up in the elegance department, but the beaded, bias-cut long slipdress had a graceful way about it.
