!–paging_filter–pJason Wu was at a href=”http://\/\/seattlemag.com/bellevue-collection“Bellevue Square/a a few weeks ago to support the launch of a href=”http://shop.nordstrom.com/c/miss-wu-fall-2013-lookbook” target=”_blank”Miss Wu/a, his diffusion (or secondary) line found exclusively at a href=”http://\/\/seattlemag.com/nordstrom“Nordstrom/a and on a href=”http://shop.nordstrom.com/” target=”_blank”nordstrom.com/a. We caught up with the designer before the event and chatted about Seattle, designing dolls and the whimsy of Miss Wu./p
pstrongAlison Brownrigg/strong: You’re from Vancouver, BC. How has growing up on the west coast affect or inform your design esthetic?brstrongJason Wu/strong: I was born in Taipei, and moved to Vancouver when I was 9, where I was first exposed to fashion. In fact, I picked up the English language through reading fashion magazines. I then moved to Connecticut for boarding school and also spent some time in France before moving to New York, where I am currently living. I have been very lucky to be able to travel and hone my craft in different countries around the world. I believe my background and culture has helped foster my design sensibility and work./p
p style=”text-align: center;”img src=”/sites/default/files/newfiles/_8119971.jpg” alt=”Miss Wu” width=”500″ height=”766″/p
pstrongAB:/strong Have you spent much time in Seattle?brstrongJW:/strong I have! I’ve become quite familiar through my many design trips in the making of Miss Wu. I love it so much and have found some of the most amazing restaurants here. (His faves include a href=”http://\/\/seattlemag.com/spinasse-and-bar-artusi“Spinasse/a, a href=”http://\/\/seattlemag.com/anchovies-olives“Anchovies Olives/a and a href=”http://\/\/seattlemag.com/din-tai-fung-dumpling-house“Din Tai Fung/a, btw.)/p
pstrongAB:/strong How did you get into designing dolls?brstrongJW:/strong I have always wanted to become a fashion designer since I was very young and I fell into doll design as a happy accident when I was 16. Fortunately, designing dolls gave me a lot of business experience that I was then able to then apply to my fashion career. I’ve now found a great balance juggling my two jobs, as a creative person, it is important for me to keep busy all the time./p
pstrongAB:/strong Define Miss WubrstrongJW:/strong I loved the idea of designing a collection that was whimsical, chic and yet still very feminine, which is very much in line with my aesthetic./p
pstrongAB:/strong Nordstrom is the exclusive retailer for this line. Did you develop the line with their input or the Nordstrom customer in mind?brstrongJW:/strong I definitely tapped into the knowledge of the Nordstrom team when I worked on this collection. I always think that the customers come first, and having the ability to get some insight into this new market was truly invaluable./p
pstrongAB:/strong What has been your biggest personal fashion faux pas or what trend did you fall victim to?brstrongJW:/strong Having bright red hair when I was 14!/p
pstrongAB:/strong What would be the title of your autobiography?brstrongJW:/strong emA Work in Progress./em/p