Designers have always shown outlandish and exuberant clothes, but that hasnt always translated to the streets. Jason Wu More Quotes by Jason Wu More Quotes From Jason Wu When I was 12 or 13 I already knew that I was gay. And then my interests were not conventional. So I was very different, in every sense of the word. And in an all-boys school, that's tough. Jason Wu gay boys school My inspirations come from everywhere. It's important to look at everything and anything. Jason Wu important inspiration looks The idea of transformation is super-important to me. You can see it in the way I approach things. I have never been a clean-faced, freshly scrubbed hair person. I'm the New York designer who doesn't do that. I think about the hair and makeup almost as much as I think about the clothes because it all has to work. Jason Wu makeup new-york thinking The way my mom dressed was one of my earliest inspirations, in those '80s suits with shoulder pads and things like that. For years, I ran away from that style. But now, all I want to do is shoulder pads and nipped-in waists and padded hips and peplums and poufed dresses. Jason Wu mom inspiration years We all want to be a little glamorous, a little playful and a little mischievous at times. Jason Wu glamorous want littles I hope I am the antithesis of disposable fashion. Jason Wu disposable antithesis fashion Buy things you truly love, things that are special, but not a lot of them. It’s about value, not quantity. Jason Wu quantity values special Actually, I'm probably 99-and-a-half percent plastic now. Jason Wu plastic percent half I think what I create is serious fashion, but I don't want to keep my focus on that. You have to look at a lot of different things. I mean, people are always surprised when they find out that my favorite show is RuPaul's Drag Race. Jason Wu fashion mean thinking I worked 10 years as a toy designer before I started my career as a fashion designer. It's something I just fell into and really liked. Jason Wu fashion careers years I am an Asian designer. I was born in Taiwan. That is who I am. But I am a designer, like any designer of any race. Growing up in the '80s in Taiwan, the arts were not considered a career. Jason Wu growing-up race art I miss All Stars, by the way. I was just telling people: how am I going to get by until January? Jason Wu stars missing people I love old architecture. I love collecting furniture, mixing really earthy things with the very polished. I don't come from an interiors background, so I'm not an expert. I just enjoy going to antiques shows and finding interesting things. Jason Wu mixing experts interesting My cats are really sassy and sophisticated, but most importantly, they are picky. Jason Wu sassy sophisticated cat I didn't understand anything about fashion until I moved to Canada when I was 9. That's when I learned English and was exposed to fashion magazines like Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue. Jason Wu canada magazines fashion When I was growing up, you sort of did the unthinkable. You did something that has never really been replicated. Jason Wu unthinkable growing growing-up I love the idea of working with women because I always feel like a man designing womenswear needs women around him to really have a sense of what they're doing. Jason Wu design men ideas I would love to take an old space and restore it to exactly the way I want it. Like an old factory, just something with great bones and lots of character. I'd take an old house and flip it into something very modern inside, or the other way around. Jason Wu space house character I hope being gay isn't the most interesting thing about me. Jason Wu being-gay gay interesting when I moved to Canada in '93, I started reading fashion magazines, and that's where I spotted the M.A.C ad that RuPaul were in. That's sort of how I first "met" you - in the red bodysuit. That was so iconic to me. Jason Wu magazines fashion reading
