jason wu meets hugo boss

Last night, Jet (dressed in Boss) and I (mentally dressed in Boss) found ourselves in the beautiful Hugo Boss store on Amsterdam's P.C. Hooftstraat to check out a very special collection. Namely that of Jason Wu, a limited womenswear collection for Hugo Boss where he has recently become the artistic director for women's fashion.

It may be hard to imagine now, but there was a time when the whole world did not yet know who Jason Wu was. His career skyrocketed to unprecedented heights when he dressed First Lady Michelle Obama for the first inauguration ball of President Barack Obama. The white dress with an asymmetrical neckline was a worldwide success, and from then on it was Jason Wu high and Jason Wu low.

And now he has a new point to add to his CV. For him, a good opportunity to show that he is a very versatile designer, and for Hugo Boss a good chance to elevate their women's collection to the same level as the men's collection. Not that there is anything terribly wrong with that, but what they did for the men's collections was not quite as good as with the women's collections. In an interview with W Magazine Wu says about this: “The made-to-measure stuff they do for men is out of this world. But they weren’t bringing any of that over to women’s.” And that is the mission, to get the basic elements of the Hugo Boss suits into the women's collection with a softer touch. Well-tailored clothing of high quality but with just a bit more print, color, and embellishments.

To celebrate that, fashion-loving Amsterdam headed to the store, grabbed a glass of champagne and walked through the store looking for all the beautiful things. We immediately fell in love with a very cool yet endlessly sexy leather ankle boot that I can totally see myself conquering the world in. Wu's mission is successful: the strong business and beautifully crafted elements of the men's suits, in a feminine sexy and at least as strong women's design.