JASON WU – NEW YORK – SPRING / SUMMER 2013 FASHION SHOW
For his Spring/Summer 2013 Collection, Jason Wu was inspired by the provocative, erotically charged imagery of photographer Helmut Newton and the soft, dream-like photos by photographer Lillian Bassman. The works of both photographers are centered on the female form – Jason was inspired by the tension created by the hardness of Newton’s imagery when contrasted with the gentle forms in Bassman’s work.
He interwove the two contradictory styles to create strong, feminine looks with soft edges by mixing leather with lace and chiffon. Jason opens the show with a commanding embossed crocodile leather dress with intricate seam detailing and lace corsetry detail on the bodice. Leather again appears on the corset of a dress with a navy embroidered chiffon skirt, a black and white leather tank with a lace racer-back and even mirrored the lace in a laser-cut black leather dress that has been re-embroidered. He created a refined leather harness to add a tougher edge to soft silhouettes. A black leather corset dress is draped with nude jersey and a white harness is shown with a black lace and white chiffon embroidered shirt. To allow the feminine form and details to be the focus, Jason used a restrained olor palette of black, white, nude, navy with shots of Jason’s signature pink. Jason has a strong belief that clothes must be as beautiful inside as out. To play with this idea he created an x-ray vision of classic silhouettes. He used transparency to highlight the workmanship but also the beauty of the feminine form. Sheer looks include a black organza jacket over a black leather bodysuit and a navy corded lace trench. As a continuation of this idea he created a black and white ghost x-ray print shown in an organza trench and in a duchess satin dress with organza panels. For evening, he showed a series of ethereal dresses that again showed a contrast between hard and soft. A navy multi-layered tulle dress was adorned with whimsical stars and trimmed with a black grosgrain harness. Lace was shown in many incarnations including trimming a black tuxedo trouser, a pink lace romper and a corset of a dress. It was also shown cut out and embroidered onto nude chiffon blouses and a black gown. Black and nude chiffon blouses and dresses were embroidered with intricate “cosmic” embellishments. The same theme of seduction/innocence runs through the accessory collection. Classic handbag shapes including a hatbox and travel case are shown in lace and leopard print with industrial hardware. Lace pumps are shown with a crystal embellished heel and patent leather pumps have a pearl studded ankle strap. Lace makes an appearance again encased in Lucite for the sunglasses.
Coverage by The Untitled Magazine
Video Footage by Jeffrey Gamble
Video Edit by Adam Waltner
