Atlanta woos designer Jason Wu

A rousing “whoo-hoo!” is one way to express the wild ride fashion designer Jason Wu has had this year. It sounds a lot like “Wu who?”, which everyone was asking when he captured the national spotlight in January as the creator of first lady Michelle Obama’s inaugural gown.

But the laid back Wu, 26, isn’t prone to interjections. Even as he fights his way through the 24-hour workdays spent preparing his spring collection for upcoming New York Fashion Week, the designer plays it cool.

“I’m calm on the outside, but manic inside,” said Wu by phone. “When people come to the studio, they are like, ‘You are so calm,’ and I’m like, ‘I’m really not.’ I have it well hidden. It comes out when I go home and I’m not sleeping and I get up and start sketching.”

Wu is taking time out of his busy schedule to visit Atlanta on Monday as special guest designer of the 17th Annual Jeffrey Fashion Cares. The event, co-chaired by Lila Hertz and Sacha Taylor, was founded by celebrated retailer Jeffrey Kalinsky to benefit the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Greater Atlanta Affiliate and the Atlanta AIDS Partnership Fund. A pre-show reception and runway presentation of fall fashions from Jeffrey Atlanta are part of the festivities. Last year, almost $800,000 was raised to support the organizations.

Wu said he’s happy to return to Atlanta, having already had a few memorable visits. “I’ve had two trunk shows at Jeffrey and it’s always a party. I love how outgoing the women I’ve met are and they have been so great about supporting my designs and me as a designer,” he said.

The Taiwan-born Wu began designing at age 9. His parents supported his talents by moving the family to North America, he said. “I think I was just born with this desire to want to create. I’ve only ever wanted to be a designer. Nothing else,” said Wu. He left design school after three and a half years to get real world experience and the decision has served him well. In 2008, Wu, who debuted his first collection in 2006, was named a finalist in the Council of Fashion Designers of America Vogue Fashion Fund. And well, we know what happened after that. Here’s what Wu had to say about his career path and his famous twist of fate.

Q: What really made you want to become a designer?

A: I loved fashion before I knew what fashion was. I loved art. I loved sculpture. In fashion, I found everything I liked in one place.

Q: You’ve dressed some very famous people including first lady Michelle Obama. Who is your dream muse or customer?

A: Mrs. Obama is on the top of that list. It’s hard to think of another one. That is incredible and I’m amazed that it would happen. All of this. The first African-American president — I never thought I would see that in my lifetime and me being part of the whole experience, I never would have imagined. We are all living history right now.

Q: Your name has been mentioned in the same sentence as Oscar de la Renta and Carolina Herrera. How does it feel to hear that?

A: Those are designers I have admired and I can only hope I have the longevity of their careers. That is something really to look up to. I am very flattered, but I’m also very humbled by that.

Q: You created Fashion Royalty [a line of fashion dolls]. Is it very different designing for dolls instead of women?

A: This year is my tenth year. I started when I was 16. It was a really great working experience and it taught me how to work with other people and how to work with the business in that way. The majority of my time has gone to my fashion career, but I enjoy doing different things. One thing that is the same is the attention to detail ... that is important.

Q: What advice do you have for young people hoping to have a career in fashion?

A: To want to be in fashion for the glamour of it all would not be the right reason to be in it. I wanted to be a designer because I wanted to be a designer no matter what. That was my priority. Not to say I don’t appreciate being recognized for it, but I think it is about getting better at my work all the time. That can be said about anything that you do. We spend too much of our lives working not to enjoy it.

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