Jason Wu became a superstar on Tuesday night when Michelle Obama showed up at the Neighborhood Ball wearing his design. On every network, journalists quickly scrambled to determine who, exactly, Jason Wu is. He’s not a Calvin Klein, a Carolina Herrerra or an Oscar de la Renta. In true Michelle form, she chose an up-and-coming designer.

Who Is Jason Wu?

Jason Wu is a 26 year old fashion designer. He was born in Taipei, Taiwan and graduated from high school in Paris. He attended Parsons School of Design in New York and now lives in Manhattan.
At age 15, he began designing dolls for Integrity Toys. The dolls look like Barbie dolls, but are a bit more fashion forward. Wu started as a designer, but quickly became the Creative Director for the company and eventually a partner.
Wu launched his fashion line in 2006 after interning with Narciso Rodriguez (who designed the dress Michelle wore on election night).

Michelle and Jason Wu

Michelle wore another dress designed by Jason Wu in November when she was interviewed by Barbara Walters. Wu received an order from Ikram Goldman, owner of the Ikram boutique in Chicago and Michelle’s pseudo stylist, with measurements for a “special” client and instructions to keep the order quiet. Wu didn’t realize who the dress was for until he saw his dress on abc. (Image via Wall Street Journal)

Jason Wu designed Michelle’s Inauguration gown back in November, finished it in December and hand delivered it to Chicago. Even then, he wasn’t sure his dress would actually be the one she wore. He footed the cost of the gown, as I’m sure other designers did as well. Reports say that Michelle didn’t even decide which dress she was going to wear until the morning of the Inauguration. I guess she had a few to choose from.


Tuesday was not the last time we’ll see Michelle wearing Jason Wu. She’s purchased 4 other dresses from Wu’s Spring Collection. Which could they be? (Images from Style.com)

Visit Style.com to see more of Wu’s Spring 2009 Collection.

Your Thoughts?

What did you think of Michelle’s Inauguration Dress? Which Jason Wu dresses do you think we’ll see her wear in the future?