“RuPaul Is Kind of the Ultimate Supermodel,” and More Musings From Parsons Honoree Jason Wu

With his Hugo Boss debut and thriving eponymous line, Jason Wu is having a banner year. So it comes as little surprise that the 31-year-old Taiwanese-Canadian designer is picking up the top honor at Parsons’ 2014 Fashion Benefit, which is set for tomorrow evening. Ahead of the festivities, Wu, who’s both a Parsons alum and—fun fact—a former toy designer, took time away from wrapping his forthcoming Resort collection to speak with Style about his secrets to success, New York fashion’s changing landscape, and his obsession with RuPaul.

—Katharine K. Zarrella

Congratulations on the Parsons honor. Considering you studied at the school, do you feel you’ve come full circle?

I’ve kind of come full circle because I moved here in 2001 for my first year at Parsons. So it’s nice to go back and be a part of this new generation of the school, which has taught me a lot and done so much for me. It’s a very nice honor and I’m very proud. But I don’t think I’ve made it—at all. I think I’ve hit a nice moment in my career and it feels great to have your peers and people in your industry acknowledge your work. But that’s not to say that there’s not much more work to do.

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Between your debut at Hugo Boss, the success of your own line, and now this award, it seems that you’ve really hit your stride this year.

I don’t know. I always think there’s more to do, so I never think I’ve hit my stride. I always want more and want to do more, but certainly I think it’s been a great year so far, having done two shows in New York for the first time, and then getting this award. I guess that comes with age and experience and just doing it for a while. And I guess I’m getting a little better at it.

Do people look at you differently now that you’ve become the big man at Boss?

I don’t know if I’ve knocked it out of the park yet, but I think we had a really successful first show and I guess people look at me a little more like a grown-up, a big person.

Do you feel like a grown-up?

Yeah, I feel a little older. I guess that means grown-up. Definitely achier.

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Your Boss show was quite the star-studded event, and Jennifer Lawrence just wore a gown from your Fall collection to the world premiere of X-Men: Days of Future Past. What role does celebrity dressing play in a designer’s success?

Having people you admire wear your clothes in a very public way is inspiring, and it’s also a great way to get your work out there. It’s a great form of advertising. But for me it’s always about quality, not quantity, and it’s about dressing the few girls that I love. I’ve always been very loyal to Diane Kruger, Reese Witherspoon, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams, Kerry Washington—those are girls I dress over and over and over again. And you really develop a rapport and a friendship and a relationship. It goes back to the days when Givenchy and Audrey Hepburn, and Catherine Deneuve and Yves Saint Laurent, had those relationships that went [beyond commerciality]. Those were true relationships. It’s great to continue that tradition.

Can a young designer make it these days without a celebrity bump?

Everyone does it differently. There are some people who make clothes that are more appropriate for a red carpet and there are some people who don’t. I’m not sure if it’s a do-or-die situation, but you do have to seek exposure in your own way, in a way that’s right for your brand.

How did you come to dress Jennifer Lawrence for her X-Men premiere? Was that a big moment for you?

Yeah. Actually, we just found out [the day before]. I had no idea. I think there’s something so incredibly human about her. That’s why people love her so much—she’s so relatable. She shows a little imperfection—which we all have—and still looks stunning.

You mentioned that people like seeing imperfection in public figures. With that in mind, people seem to like you a lot. What’s your imperfection?

My imperfection is that I’m not as perfect as people seem to think I am. There’s a sense of controlled, sophisticated ideas in my clothes that are quite neat, and I think people sometimes think I’m that, but I’m not.

Are you messy?

I’m actually not messy. I’m terrible at waking up early. I’m terrible at a lot of things. I’m terrible at technology—anything computer-oriented. And I’m terrible at making anything on time, which I’m really working on. Actually, at Parsons, I was always really late, and you can’t be late at Parsons. You really get into trouble.

You, along with Alexander Wang, Prabal Gurung, Joseph Altuzarra, etc., are part of New York’s new guard. How do you think the creative climate here is changing?

Right now, New York fashion week is at its best. We have the most young talent [succeeding] at the same time for the first time in a long, long while, and this is the first time that we’ve really been acknowledged on an international level in a long time. That has to do with the fact that our generation’s outlook is global, rather than local. If you look at Style, you can read that anywhere in the world. That certainly helps. Having that kind of recognition all over the world is something that is quite rare. We’re experiencing something of a moment, a movement.

Why is that, do you think?

It is, in so many ways, New York’s time. All [of the young designers] in New York come from different international backgrounds. I think that’s a very nice representation of what New York fashion is about—it’s about diversity; it’s about fresh ideas; it’s about making its own statement, because we don’t have the hundreds of years of history. We’re really still, as a whole, quite new at it.

Do you remember how you felt when you were designing your Parsons graduate collection?

It’s so funny because I went to Parsons and my major was menswear, yet I make the most fit-and-flare dresses you could possibly imagine. I guess after going to the very masculine side, I felt like I was much more comfortable in the very feminine side, and eventually the combination of the two became my work as we know it today.

Why were you initially drawn to menswear?

I always liked the idea of tailoring. I always felt making a jacket was the most difficult thing, and it is still the most difficult. Sometimes the cleanest things with the least amount of details are the most intricate.

What do fashion students need to know that isn’t necessarily taught in school?

It’s that the fashion industry isn’t by-the-books. It’s not about following one specific route, it’s about paving your own way and making it your own. That’s what makes fashion interesting—individual visions—and not one person breaks through in the same way. We all get into it slightly differently—I worked in toys first.

Speaking of toys, I read that back in the day, you did a RuPaul doll?

I worked with RuPaul once! It was a long time ago. We made a RuPaul doll and it was wildly successful and that’s how I met him. Of course, RuPaul’s Drag Race is my favorite show ever. It’s like the best show on television. RuPaul is kind of the ultimate supermodel, and I have an obsession with supermodels.

Does your former life as a toy designer ever inform your fashion designs?

Attention to detail is what links my work as a toy designer and a fashion designer. Most people say I went from dressing toy dolls to real dolls. That’s kind of the press-y version of it. But in actuality, I did everything from designing the sculptural form of the dolls to the industrialization of the molds to the manufacturing. I always knew how to create a really good product, and I think that experience primed me for this industry.

How important has business savvy been to your success?

The balance between creativity and business-savvy is something that every young designer needs to be aware of, because it’s the reality of our industry. Having that balance is something that my generation of New York designers really thinks about.

What is your advice to fashion students who want to be the next Jason Wu?

I don’t know if they do want to be the next Jason Wu! But my advice is seize every opportunity and work hard. It sounds so obvious to say that, but the glamour of the industry can get distracting sometimes, and at the end of the day it’s about the work. I work weekends all the time—there’s no such thing as overtime for me because my own time is overtime. And I don’t have any vacations, so cancel those family plans.

Area Pops Up on Kenmare

Emerging label Area is moving full steam ahead. Since we last checked in with designers Piotrek Panszczyk and Beckett Fogg this past March, the pair’s embossed velvet, mohair, and Lurex debut Fall ’14 collection has been requested by mega-stylists (like Marie-Amélie Sauvé), shot by some major magazines, and is slowly but surely attracting retailers’ attention. But the duo wants to bring their vision to the public here and now, so they’ve created an accessible capsule collection, which will be sold in a pop-up shop in Nolita. Bowing this Saturday at 52 Kenmare Street (“we specifically timed it for the weekend before Memorial Day,” explained Fogg), the store will house shorts, tote bags, T-shirts, and tanks, all of which will feature the house’s signature braille-like texture. Speaking from experience, I can tell you that these are no ordinary basics—the pieces, offered in white, light gray, and charcoal, have a unique grain thanks to the embossing and perforation method, which the designers stumbled upon almost by accident. “We use the same process in our mainline, and one of the ‘flaws’ that comes along with it is that if you really jack up the heat and the pressure, the plate will punch through the garment. The people we work with are always horrified when it happens, and we constantly have to tell them, ‘No, we want it that way!’” laughed Fogg.

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The technique also causes the wares to morph and evolve as you wear them. For instance, if you send the styles to the dry cleaner, the material will turn into an irregular jersey mesh. If you get the fabric wet, the texture will soften. The designers note that you can even iron out the indentations to make irregular patterns. “This isn’t meant to be a very precious garment that makes you freak out when something happens to it,” stressed Fogg. “We actually have a timeline on our website, where you can see the textures up close, and how they will change. Basically, with these designs, we’ve sped up the process of wearing out your tee for you.”

Considering the designers’ mainline is priced between $600 and $1,600, the capsule is a steal, with each piece coming in at less than $100. That being said, if you’re in the mood to invest in these young talents’ work, you can see their Fall ’14 collection and place a private order. Have a browse—you won’t regret it.

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Pitti Reveals Big Plans, Makes Peace

This afternoon, the fashion set chowed down on bacon, rigatoni, and cream sauce, which can mean only one thing: the biannual Pitti Immagine Uomo/W luncheon. Held at downtown Italian eatery Da Silvano, the afternoon gathering gave Pitti CEO Raffaello Napoleone the opportunity to speak with press, buyers, and more about the plans for the Spring ’15 Florence fashion fair—and boy, are there a lot of them. 2014 marks the 60th anniversary of the Centro di Firenze per la Moda Italiana (essentially the organizing body for all things fashion in Firenze), so in addition to exhibitions and presentations from emerging and established designers, fairgoers will be treated to a three-museum exhibition by Francesco Vezzoli, who will insert his own work among classical paintings, sculptures, etc.; an opening opera starring Andrea Bocelli; an exhibition of Roman costume atelier Sartoria Tirelli’s confections; a bevy of film screenings; the debut of Nick Wooster’s capsule collection; and more. Also on the docket? Florence-born brands Salvatore Ferragamo, Gucci, Emilio Pucci, and Ermanno Scervino will each host special events.

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As reported last month, Z Zegna will be the featured guest menswear designer, but there will be no guest womenswear designer this season due to the many other events on the itinerary. We suppose the abovementioned powerhouses’ Florence-centric projects will suffice. “We don’t want it to be just another fair,” Napoleone told while sipping a glass of vino rosso. “We want to create a cultural experience.” Provided the itinerary lives up to expectations, it seems he’s done just that.

The overcrowded menswear schedule also came up in discussion this afternoon. If you’ll remember, there was a bit of a tiff between Pitti Uomo and the London Collections: Men last season, as the recently founded London shows conflicted with the Florence fair. “There will be no more troubles in 2015,” announced Napoleone. While the showcases will once again overlap this time around, next season the calendar for all four cities will shift, allowing London, Florence, Milan, and Paris each to have its fair share of time in the spotlight. (This helps explore the new dates for Paris Couture, too.) “This is better for everyone,” asserted Napoleone, telling us that it took one year to reach the final agreement. “Having four menswear events in Europe is a good opportunity because the manufacturers will remain strong and [we] can drive the [menswear] sensibility,” he added. It’s nice to see all the fashion cities (finally) playing nice.

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Celebrities Reveal What Their Mothers Taught Them About Beauty

Whether we like it or not, our mothers are the voice in our heads—murmuring that a skirt is just a little too short, that no matter how tired we are, we really should wash our face before bed, that we must embrace—not pick apart—what we see in the mirror. They were, after all, the first ones who told us we were beautiful (and made us wear sunscreen long before we knew what was good for us). In honor of mother’s day, we asked celebrities and beauty experts to share the most important lessons their mothers taught them about beauty.

“Everything was about blush all the time. Before I’d leave the house, my mom would always say, ‘You need more blush.’ Now I have this thing about blush—I always feel like I don’t have enough color on my cheeks.” —Jillian Dempsey, makeup artist

“My mom was a hairdresser when I was growing up, and she loved experimenting. She taught me that trying new things could be fun, whether it was dyeing my hair or chopping bangs. When you change your look, sometimes you stand a little taller. She also taught me to hold my head up high and make eye contact with everyone I meet. People will feel that energy and be drawn to you.” —Heidi Klum, model and host of Project Runway

“I love my mother, but it was the ’70s, and she sat outside with a sun reflector. So I sort of learned what not to do by watching her. But she is lovely, and she did tell me not to dress like a whore.” —Julie Bowen, actress

“My mother and I were very close. She died when I was 17. She was diagnosed with cancer when I was two, and they gave her six months to live. But she lived for 15 years, so we had 15 years of pure, seize-the-day, don't-let-any-moment-pass time together, and she taught me a hell of a lot. She taught me how to walk in Chanel pumps in fourth grade. She didn't know how long she would live, and she wanted to make sure I knew all the important things. She said to me, ‘OK, I’m going to break the news to you. You’re never going to grow over five feet tall, so you better learn how to walk in heels now, because you’re going to be living in them your whole life.’ So while everybody else was outside playing tag and hide-and-seek, I was doing drills in five-inch pumps, up and down my stairs. To this day, I can outrun any drag queen in platforms on a cobblestone street, no problem.” —Mally Roncal, makeup artist and founder of Mally Beauty

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“Being who you truly want to be—who you truly are—is one of the most important things my mother taught me. I wanted to be a skateboarder when I was 13. Didn’t know how to skateboard, but my mom let me wear a wallet chain and hold a skateboard under my arm and walk around like an idiot because that’s what I wanted to do.” —Kelly Osbourne, TV host

“The most important thing she taught me was to never want to look like someone else or be someone else. She was a ballerina, and she made me dance, and if I danced in a certain style or copied a specific person, she would tell me to dance like myself. She felt that if you knew how to own and respect what you’re given naturally, there’s nothing more beautiful.” —Tracy Anderson, founder of Tracy Anderson Method studios

“I learned that you should just be natural. We’re a very soap-and-water sort of family all the way. My mom is gorgeous, but it was always about how you carried yourself, how you felt about yourself.” —Rosario Dawson, actress

“I had bad acne as a teen, and my mother took it seriously. She brought me to a dermatologist, just like her mother had done for her. A lot of my friends didn’t go because their parents thought, Oh, it’s just pimples; suck it up. But it can really affect your self-esteem.” —Amy Wechsler, dermatologist

“My mother was a feminist. She would have slapped you if you said she was pretty. And she was pretty, but she wasn’t very much into looks or anything like that. She taught me about the mind and the meaning of life. I learned about being a strong woman, and I think that’s more beautiful to me.” —Julie Delpy, writer and actress

“My mother’s biggest thing was ‘Keep it simple.’ She had beautiful, dewy skin, and she would accent it with just black eyeliner and mascara. Even now, she’s 60 and I’m 40, and she gets all the compliments.” —Jeannia Robinette, makeup artist

“My mother taught me that neutrals work best. She loved a no-makeup look but was flawless. She taught me how to do my eyes with brown eyeliner and black mascara. Her tips are so timeless that I still follow them today.” —Aerin Lauder, founder of Aerin

“In the ’90s, I copied Kate Moss’s pencil-line eyebrows. When my mom saw them, she said, ‘If you never listen to anything I tell you again, grow your eyebrows back in.’ And I listened. Now that I’m in my 40s, I know there’s nothing worse than an overplucked eyebrow as you get older. When I meet a model with great brows, I tell her, ‘Hold on to every single one of those precious little hairs.’” —Kate Lee, makeup artist

“She used to say to me, ‘Don’t touch your skin around your face too much,’ ‘Eat the crusts of your bread or your hair will grow curly,’ and ‘Get to bed early so you don’t have bags under your eyes.’ But my mom was a psychologist, so it wasn’t so much beauty tips as, ‘Simone, where is this anger coming from? Let’s get in touch with this anger.'" —Simone de la Rue, founder of Body by Simone

“Two things she told me that I still abide by: Always wash your face at night and use cider vinegar. At the time I thought she was a little nutty about vinegar, because she used it for everything. She would drink it—a teaspoon in water every day—and use it to clean the kitchen. It’s a wonderful antimicrobial, but it also normalizes the pH of the skin. For years I got eczema, and I always used antibiotic creams, but one day she said, ‘Why don’t you put vinegar on that?’ And I did, and it went away, and that’s what I do now. It’s a wonderful trick.” —Jane Iredale, founder of Iredale Mineral Cosmetics

“My mom’s job took her to a lot of college campuses, and she had the opportunity to see all the college girls. At the time I was addicted to the Aussie-Sprunch-spray, two-sets-of-hot-rollers-and-a-perm look, and the best piece of advice she ever gave me was when she said, ‘I’m telling you, all the college girls are wearing their hair straight.’ And she helped me get a straightening iron and do it. I was like five years ahead of the curve.” —Molly Sims, actress

“We’re from Jamaica, and my mother taught me a few local tricks. She taught me that salt water keeps your skin acne-free. We soak a cotton ball in ocean water and wipe it all over our faces. At the end of the summer, we fill up bottles in the ocean to last us the winter. I have one in my refrigerator now, because every once in a while I do get a little acne, and it just sucks it out.” —Sheril Bailey, manicurist

“We lived on a farm, so we always had goat’s milk around. She would put it in my baths to help me with my eczema. I actually created a goats milk cream inspired by that.” —Kate Somerville, aesthetician and founder of Kate Somerville Skin Care

“A smoky eye or a red lip, but never both at the same time!” —Catherine Malandrino, designer

“She always told me to smile with my eyes. I learned that by watching her. And what that meant to her, and now to me, is: To be beautiful is to feel beautiful. If you felt good, and you felt confident, you could put that through your eyes in a picture. And that would be beautiful.” —Josie Maran, model and founder of Josie Maran Cosmetics

Michelle Obama Cuts the Ribbon at the Met Costume Institute's New Anna Wintour Costume Center

"Those of us blessed with the opportunity to succeed have an obligation to reach back and take others along with us,” said First Lady Michelle Obama this morning before cutting the ribbon at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute’s new Anna Wintour Costume Center, calling the Vogue Editor in Chief an “inspiration multiplier.” Aerin Lauder, chair and sponsor of tonight’s gala to celebrate the opening of the Center’s inaugural show, "Charles James: Beyond Fashion," remarked, “There is no one more deserving of this honor.”

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It was a sentiment that echoed around the Temple of Dendur, where fashion’s top designers, both established and new-generation—from Oscar de la Renta (one of the event’s cochairs), to Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez of Proenza Schouler, to Alexander Wang—gathered for the ceremony. Really it was difficult to think of a designer who wasn’t there.

“It’s just beyond to beyond what she brings to the world and to New York,” said Donna Karan of Wintour. “She’s such a dedicated and devoted woman,” Marc Jacobs agreed. J.Crew’s Jenna Lyons spoke of the work Wintour does to “preserve and protect” the fashion industry, much of which is behind the scenes. “Anna is so private about it. She deserves to be recognized.”

While honoring Wintour, Mrs. Obama also highlighted the importance of the Costume Institute, and its new Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch Gallery and Carl and Iris Barrel Apfel Gallery, in the realm of education and the inspiration it provides young people; joking, those carefully constructed James dresses might make them “pay closer attention in geometry this semester.”

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Join Jacquie Aiche’s Girl Gang With a Custom Leather Jacket

It isn’t every day a jewelry designer steps up to the sewing machine, but Jacquie Aiche isn’t your typical jeweler. Aiche started making her career-defining “finger bracelets” (delicate gold chains connected to a matching ring) for friends out of her Los Angeles garage, and as requests poured in from Hollywood and beyond, she found herself in the center of a cult phenomenon. The hand chain became a sort of symbol for the Jacquie Aiche “tribe”—with no retailers, you had to be part of the in-crowd to snag one of the pieces.

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Now Aiche stocks her distinctive jewelry at Saks Fifth Avenue, Catbird, Shopbop, Curve, My Theresa, and more. Her posse is expanding, too. “We travel as a tribe when we go to all the shows,” Aiche told Style. “We laugh about how we’re going to form a girl gang.” Aiche’s crew piles on the jewelry, but now they have another (super-special) way to pledge their allegiance: Aiche’s new leather jackets. Debuting exclusively here on Style, the bomber styles are decidedly unique. Constructed from exotic skins like snake, deer, ostrich, and crocodile, the jackets are completely customizable and handmade to order. A range of cool decorative patches is available, like the eye of Horus or a marijuana leaf (both recurring motifs in her jewelry line).

“It’s been a very organic process,” Aiche said of her foray into outerwear. “We were on our way to Paris fashion week and it was really cold, so I asked the guy who makes our leather jewelry pouches to take the leftover material and make jackets for us. They were magnetic from the first moment we wore them.”

At last night’s piercing party hosted by Love Adorned, model Phoenix Cotner sported her jacket topless with a tangle of necklaces, and several others were on hand to show off their toppers. “Each jacket is for a different woman,” Aiche said. “Maybe she wants protection, so she chooses the eye.” She recently sent jackets to Rihanna and Miley Cyrus—the latter has her name stitched across the back (we’re guessing the marijuana leaf made it on there, too). Shoppers looking for something extra luxurious can add black rabbit fur lining. We’ll be keeping that in mind for the next Polar Vortex.

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Look gorgeous with these beauty quick fixes

Body image is something most people battle with. While some choose to go under the knife to get that perfect nose or pouty lips, it might not always be something you need to opt for. Apart from being expensive, painful and not to mention time consuming, going under the knife comes with its own set of complications. Recently a team of experts at Hairtrade has come up with seven non-surgical fixes for some of the most common body complaints. So to help you get that perfect look, Here is a step by step guide for quick, easy and cheap ways to achieve the look you want:

Fuller lips: Some women are lucky enough to have full lips but for the rest of them, instead of pumping them with collagen or botox, try a few make-up tricks. Before applying any make-up, brush across your lips with a toothbrush. It may sound odd, but in fact it increases the blood flow to your lips, making them appear plumper. To create a fuller look, use a lip pencil to outline your lips – this will help define your lips – and then fill them with your favourite lipstick.

Slimmer nose: Have you ever wished you had a slimmer, straighter nose? Instead of heading to see the nearest plastic surgeon, try contouring.

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By mixing a darker foundation with your natural colour you can create a slimmer shape. Apply a matt finish and then highlight other areas of your face like your cheeks or eyes and you will draw attention away from your nose. There are plenty of free guides to help you achieve the sort of look you’re after.

Flatter tummy: So liposuction or a tummy tuck may seem an easy way to shed the excess pounds – but no pain, no gain, so cut out all the treats and head down to the gym instead. But if you want to flaunt a flat tummy instantly, there is a cheat’s way to give you a helping hand – control undies. We’ve all worn them at some point and they are a must to give you a smooth, streamlined shape.

Longer, thicker hair: Your hair only grows around a centimetre a month, so if you’re trying to grow out a style or just want longer locks, it’s all about being patient. Unless, of course, you decide to try a wig or hair extensions. Good quality hair extensions or a well fitting wig can take you from a cropped style to luscious long locks in minutes. If you suffer from thinning hair, it’s certainly worth trying some of the hair growth shampoos, conditioners and leave in treatments which are available. These help stimulate and quicken hair growth.

Losing dark circles under your eyes: Dark circles and bags under your eyes are all part of aging – but it doesn’t mean we have to like or live with them. Getting enough sleep is a must, and cut down on the caffeine and booze. These can cause mild dehydration making the dark circles more obvious. Also try using a concealer a shade lighter than your norm.

Smoother skin: Skin peels are popular among women who want to remove fine lines, prevent aging and achieve clearer skin. But you can get similar results simply by making some dietary changes. Ditch the sugary treats and white carbs and replace them with wholegrain carbs like brown rice.

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