Jason Wu Resort 2015

Review by Nicole Phelps
Has his short time at Hugo Boss started to rub off on Jason Wu's own line? For Resort, Wu said he was looking at the work of Dieter Rams, the German industrial designer famous for the austerely beautiful record players and radios he made for Braun in the late 1950s and sixties. Scrolling through Google images of Rams' work, Wu pointed out parallelisms: the chalky, neutral palette, the understated plastic- or leather-covered hardware. Even his familiar lace has taken on a new rigor—instead of flowers, he used a squared-off motif, a grid-like pattern that was echoed in the collection's sole print. But Wu was quick to point out this wasn't an out-and-out rethink of his signatures. "I'm playing with a ladylike aesthetic with a new set of eyes," he said.

Think of it this way: Wu has grown up, and so has his customer. Yes, the Wu woman has always been sophisticated, but for Resort she'll be paring back on the frills in favor of an unadorned sleeveless sheath (lovely in a minty green) or a slim-line skirtsuit. A white zip-front shirt worn with white boot-cut trousers exemplified the clean, rather minimalist spirit of the new collection. One of its few flourishes was a wide swath of sheared mink on a sleeveless coat. Evening, too, was relatively restrained in the sense that he traded in embellishment in favor of evocative, almost grand silhouettes. Wu has been challenging himself lately, pushing his familiar look in new directions. This collection lacked some of the feminine whimsy of his previous work, which might be an adjustment for some of his followers. Still, Wu has a sure hand, as a sublime light yellow beaded cocktail dress proved. The precision of a look like that has its own seductions.