Jason Wu Fall 2010

Princess Diaries be damned. Jason Wu is determined to prove he’s not a one-hit wonder, and if the fall collection he delivered on Friday was any sign of things to come, he has a long career ahead of him. Moving beyond his sweet, saccharine-filled dresses and ladies-who-lunch separates–that drew endless comparisons to the great Oscar de la Renta–the 27-year-old turned to another legend for inspiration to churn out a solid and complete showing of his masterful eye: Irving Penn. Indeed, the late photographer’s own relaxed men’s wear persona and demeanor was evident from the first look (a graphite cashmere sweater, carbon platinum-print cashmere coat), taking charge on two of the biggest trends going at the moment: men’s wear and outerwear. Often paired with his recently-launched line of sunglasses, the boxy mohair sweaters, oxford shirts and cashmere suits–tougher and structured–were a territory Wu ventured into first for pre-fall. And it worked beautifully. Transitioning into cocktail, Wu’s signature style emerged–nevertheless with some fanciful twists. Reinterpreting Penn’s photographs into actual prints, polka dots to the naked eye on a strapless shantung bubble dress were, in fact, a reproduction of a cigarette-burn print. The exquisite–and real–gold leafing on Wu’s duchesse satin sheaths? An ode to Penn’s images of mudmen in new Guinea and cast-off negatives of chemical spills inspired those, natch. As the exquisite parade of beautifully tailored evening pieces swanned down a lush, deep-pile pink carpet (which will be recycled and donated to a school in Brooklyn–Harvey Milk perhaps?), each look was successively more covetable. From the blush scribble-print crossover dress and voluminous parchment shantung dress (that’s a “cigarette-burn” print) to plume-print silk tulle gown that would be the perfect Jason Wu wedding dress, the young designer really hit it on the mark once again. Feathers and tulle and lace and embroidery, oh my! Karlie Kloss closed the show in an ivory gilded-leaf embroidered drape gown that simply oozed the virtues of a Penn photograph straight out of the pages of Vogue. It all made for a sharply sophisticated palette ideal for both the working woman and belle of the ball–and on par with a certain First Lady’s signature style.