Wu, Jason (1982-…), is a Taiwanese-born, United States-based fashion designer. He achieved fame when First Lady Michelle Obama wore a gown he designed for the inaugural ball of her husband, U.S. President Barack Obama . Wu designs both made-to-order high fashion and ready-to-wear lines of clothing , from elegant, full-length gowns to more casual day wear. His designs, which include accessories such as handbags and scarves, are characterized as feminine and modern. They feature clean, classic lines in such pieces as sleek jackets and hourglass-shaped dresses, often in prints and bright colors.
Wu was born on Sept. 27, 1982, in Taipei, Taiwan. His family moved to Vancouver, Canada, when he was 9 years old. Wu developed an interest in fashion design as a child. He designed and sewed doll clothes throughout his school years. When he was a teenager, Wu became a free-lance designer of doll clothing for the toy company Integrity Toys, Inc., of Chesapeake City, Maryland. Soon after joining the company, he became its creative director and later a partner. Integrity specialized in high-end fashion dolls. The company sold Wu’s designs under the “Jason Wu Dolls” and “Fashion Royalty” labels.
Wu decided to become a fashion designer while studying in France during his senior year at the Loomis Chaffee School of Windsor, Connecticut. He then studied fashion at the Parsons School of Design (now Parsons the New School for Design) in New York City. In 2006, Wu started his own company and launched his first full collection of ready-to-wear clothing.
Wu was thrust into the international spotlight in 2009, when Michelle Obama wore the white, crystal-studded ball gown he had designed for her husband’s first inaugural ball. Four years later, Mrs. Obama again chose a gown designed by Wu for the president’s second-term inaugural festivities.
