Designer Jason Wu opened this season’s New York Fashion Week, with a live show: Mr. Wu’s General Store presented at an empty retail space in SoHo, a 1950s-inspired market. Jason was one of only two designers who opted for live presentation, which was also live streamed exclusively on New York Fashion Week official site.
Jason Wu Fall /Winter 2021 collection was inspired by the freshness of normality, and the designer’s love of food and farmer’s markets. For the collection Wu collaborated with Chefs’ Warehouse and Coca-Cola. All of the food – ranging from fresh fruits and vegetables to breads, cheeses, packaged goods and more – was donated immediately post-show to City Harvest to help New Yorkers in need and feed more than 200 families across the five boroughs.
Whereas his last show was all about escapism, the theme for Fall/Winter 2021 was much more personal and familiar to Wu: cooking. ‘’Most of my year has been at farmers market, which I actually really, really love’’, he said. ‘’This was an opportunity for me to combine two of my favorite things, fashion and food’’. That explained crates of fresh produce, wine bottle stocked shelves and baskets of colorful blooms which wove through the space like runway for models to stride through.
As someone who spent a good portion of his life wanting to move to New York, Wu felt it was important to participate in the time-honored tradition that is fashion week. ‘’New York has always been somewhere where I wanted to call home. And now, after 20 years – you know, things are tough out there. It’s cold. There’s not much going on at New York Fashion Week. I just wanted to make sure that New York Fashion Week was represented within the international calendars’’, he explained.
The designer was feeling nostalgic for his boarding school days in New England, growing up against the idyllic Americana backdrop. Eager to combine his two passions, Wu designed fall around elevated American sportswear and beautiful craftsmanship; a minimalist tone ran throughout, with playful pops brought forth by pieces designed with Coca-Cola’s archives.
Outerwear was a prominent focus – think ankle-skimming coats, boxy oversized blazers, big parkas – alongside elevated American sportswear worked through the lens of elegant minimalism.
