From 'Made in China' to 'Created by China'
- Source: Global Times
- [21:32 November 03 2009]
- Comments
By James Chau
Innovation equals leadership.
That's what I thought when I met in Beijing with Jason Wu, the fashion designer with the world if not at his feet then at least just a phone call away.
That came in January this year when Michelle Obama wore the dress he designed the night her husband became president, sending fashion editors scrambling to hail this new name and bringing instant fame to a boy-genius whose clothes are known for their bold prints, color blocks and an intricate corsetry masked by an external fluidity.
It's an unlikely fairytale for a Chinese-American born in Taiwan, but one with a happy ending. Somehow it's fitting that he should be anointed by a first couple voted into the White House on a mandate for change.
Wu, too, is a model in innovation. A veteran at 27 of trains, planes and buses.
He credits the ability to travel from a young age as his single biggest influence.
Flying to Europe and "studying relentlessly" was key to his success.
From the great couture houses of Charles James and Madeleine Vionnet, what worked for Wu was soaking up every possible opportunity (especially those far beyond his own country) to gain a fuller understanding of the historical evolution of fashion and its techniques.
"When your references are always current and restricted in scope, it limits your way of thinking and how much you can create," he says. "You end up not only going in circles, but chasing your own tail."
That's good news for us.
"Traveling" and "absorbing" courses through the blood of ordinary Chinese, millions of whom migrated through the centuries to countries in Asia, the Pacific, Europe and the Americas.
What they share is an uncanny and ingrained know-how of blending and assimilating into local cultures.
Wu and his family are just one example. And so too are the other overseas Asians making a name with him.
He is also valedictorian in a growing class of regional designers. Together, they are graduating from next-big-thing status to having their clothes and accessories impact not just the everyday choices of millions of consumers, but also the jobs of millions of workers around the world.
From Peter Som to Alexander Wang, Philip Lim to Derek Lam, and Doori Chung to Thakoon Panichgul, these exciting names draw a line beneath Asia's century, picking up where Chanel, Balenciaga and Saint Laurent came before them, and symbolizing not just the story of a region on the rise, but also the originality of a generation.
We salute them.
