Jason Wu Collection is headed back to the runway in September. For two seasons, Wu has presented his lower-priced line at New York Fashion Week, releasing photos of this signature label on a see-now, buy-now time frame. “There was no fantasy last year, there was a whole lot of reality,” he explained on a Zoom call. “People were very conservative.” Since March though, Wu’s Collection sales have turned around, and he’s feeling recharged and newly optimistic. “It’s going to be a great moment for the city. It’s about all of us being united again after going separate ways.”
The long spell off the runway has refocused Wu’s work. He’s less interested in feathers and frills for obvious reasons—there’s been fewer occasions for them. These days, he’s redirecting his decorative impulses into prints, and he’s also developed a penchant for collaboration. His fall prints marry the work of two women, the Japanese artist Ozabu, whose preferred medium is pencil, and Wu’s longtime florist Emily Thompson, who has an inspired eye for color.
“I’ve been craving new ideas and a sense of interaction,” Wu said. “We were alone last year, but that didn’t mean we had to be insular.” Collages of Ozabu’s and Thompson’s work decorate such wardrobing staples as trenches, shirtdresses, and cashmere sweaters. The results look special without requiring a special occasion in which to wear them. It’s a timely adjustment, with women reexamining the value of big-ticket items.
That said, Wu did let himself fantasize a bit. There’s a long dress in strapless tulle finished with a frothy, abstract flower and two more in taffeta with dramatic volumes at the bodice. He tempered them somewhat with raw, unfinished edges, but there’s no mistaking them—they’re honest-to-goodness gowns, which will demand a red carpet or a gala. Or maybe not? Wu reported seeing a woman eating dinner in one of New York’s countless outdoor dining set-ups in a strapless red dress. “I want glamour,” he said. Him and her both.
