Taiwanese fashion designer Jason Wu created Michelle Obama’s Inauguration Gown. He designed 2 gowns one colorful and one white. Mrs. Obama chose the white one. According to the 26-year-old designer, the white gown was designed to have a dream like quality. Funny enough, Jason Wu found out at the same time as the rest of us on TV. He called into CNN to talk about his gown. (See the clip below.)
Seeing the First Lady wear his design has given Jason Wu more insppiration for his Fall 2009 collection he is working on now. Jason Wu studied at Parsons School of Design in New York. He also interned with designer Narciso Rodriguez. You can see Jason Wu’s Spring 2009 collection. He was one of only a few Asian American designers in New York’s Fashion Week.
The Wall Street Journal reports Wu’s evening wear sells for $3,000 to $6,000. Previously, Michelle Obama wore a $3,510 dress made by Jason Wu for a November interview with Barbara Walters.
CNN interviews 26-year-old Designer Jason Wu – Michelle Obama’s Inauguration Gown Designer
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Jason Wu talks about Michelle Obama’s dress, dolls, and his new line
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More about Jason Wu
Although only 26, the Taipei native has already achieved many accomplishments. His family moved to Vancouver when Wu was 9 where he began learning how to sew, draft patterns, and sketch in fashion proportions by using dolls as mannequins. At the age of 14, he went to study sculpture in Tokyo and then spent his senior year of high school in Paris, where he decided to become a fashion designer. Wu then enrolled in the prestigious Parsons School of Design and interned with Narciso Rodriguez.
In February 2006 he debuted his collection, emerging as one of the leading new American talents. The Jason Wu collection is carried at Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Ikram, Nordstrom, Susan of Burlingame and Louis Boston. The fashion star is a favorite among press, stylists and celebrities including Amber Valetta, Leighton Meester, Joy Bryant, Gretchen Mol and Kerry Washington.
Jason continues to receive accolades including Fashion Group International’s Rising Star Award for Women’s Ready-to-Wear in January 2008 and in July 2008 he was named one of the finalists in the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund