Jason Wu will be designing a limited edition capsule collection – around fifteen pieces -for TSE to debut at New York’s Fall 2010 Fashion Week.

The first ladies go to designer created a collection that was vibrant, young and perfect for Capital Hill.

While their design aesthetics may be completely unique, the following ten designers have one thing in common: Asian descent! Here are our favorites:

1) ALEXANDER WANG

2) PHILLIP LIM

3) YOHJI YAMAMOTO

4) REI KAWAKUBO

5) THAKOON

6) DEREK LAM

7) ANNA SUI

DOO-RI CHUNG

9) JASON WU

10) VIVIENNE TAM

A designer Barbie auction with bids starting at $250 for AIDS and breast cancer charities will take place in New York at Jeffrey’s during Fashion Week!

Christophe Decarnin of Balmain, Chrsitopher Kane, Proenza Schouler, Rick Owens, Alber Elbaz of Lanvin and another 295 designers each dressed a Jason Wu Barbie doll with their signature pieces.

First Vogue Italia dedicates its August issue to Barbie, now Jason Wu is debuting his doll for Colette. Available at the French mecca of style for $300 Wu took inspiration from his own collection for the glamourous get up his doll sports. Looks like August is the month of the doll.

SOURCE: Style Frizz

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen have been added to the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s list of America’s most renowned designers. Joining over 350 clothing and accessories geniuses, the Olsen twins have finally crossed the line from celebrity designer to an established brand. We knew it would happen, putting them in first place on our ten best celebrity designers list. Congratulations are in order for Alexander Wang, Jason Wu and Chris Benz too!

SOURCE: My Fashion Life

Embarrassing as it is to admit, I definitely had more Ninja Turtles than Barbie dolls as a kid, but the soon to be released Jason Wu x Colette Paris doll has resurrected the little girl in me and completely eradicated my tom-boy days. Wu, who actually began his career designing dolls, has reconstructed look #20 from his Fall 2009 collection, downsizing to doll size. The limited-edition Colette doll will be available this week for €215 (about $300). Can’t get over to Paris in time? Wu is also slated to design a doll for Jeffrey New York, due to hit shelves sometime this August!

Thanks Style File!

The 37th Annual Lighthouse International sale starts a week from today and will feature designers like Jason Wu, Christian Lacroix, Alexander McQueen, Burberry, DVF, Hermes, Lanvin, Marc Jacobs, Prada, YSL, Zac Posen, and others who donated to the sale. There’s a Chanel tweed jacket for $150, a wool Stella coat for $350, a $300 Marchesa gown and even a Dior wedding dress.

There are samples, vintage and slightly worn pieces from more recent runways – including Kim Cattrall’s green Jimmy Choos or her gold Valentino’s (above).

The sale takes place at 110 East 60th Street between Park and Lex from Thursday, May 14 to Saturday, May 16, 11am to 7pm and Sunday May 17th from 11am to 5pm. A one day pass is only $10, four days is $30 and you can buy tickets here.

The CFDA got around to announcing their nominations yesterday. Michelle Obama is getting some love from the group (aka they need a famous face to sell some tickets). She’ll be receiving a Board of Director’s Special
Tribute, whatever that means.

Marc Jacobs will receive an International Award for his work at Louis Vuitton. Anna Sui will get the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award.

The other nominees are:

Womenswear Designer of the Year
Marc Jacobs
Narciso Rodriguez
Laura and Kate Mulleavy/Rodarte (Really hope they win)

Menswear Designer of the Year
Michael Bastian
Scott Steinberg/Band of Outsiders
Italo Zucchelli/Calvin Klein

Accessories Designer of the Year
Vera Wang
Marc Jacobs
Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez/Proenza Schouler

Swarovski Award for Womenswear (Emerging Talent)
Alexander Wang
Jason Wu (Sucking Up to Obama Much?!?)
Thakoon Panichgul (Should definitely take the win)

Swarovski Award for Menswear
Patrick Ervell
Robert Geller
Tim Hamilton

Swarovski Award for Accessories
Albertus Q. Swanepoel
Alejandro Ingelmo
Justin Giunta/Subversive Jewelry

LINKAGE: 2009 CFDA Award Nominees

After over-analyzed controversy followed the First Lady for her choice to wear Jason Wu at the Presidential inauguration ball, Michelle Obama is “redeeming” herself with the black community, sporting a flirty and feminine Tracy Reese dress on the latest cover of People Magazine. For those of you who don’t know, Tracy Reese happens to be a black designer, and a very talented one at that. But before the media goes over-analyzing her fashion choice, let it be know that Obama is, in fact, a Tracy Reese fan. During a fundraiser in 2008, Obama and Reese had the opportunity of meeting where she confessed: “I need to be wearing [Reese's] clothes!” Tracy Reese designs affordable and stylish clothing that real women want to wear. Although Obama very well could have chosen this dress to brush the designer-race issue under the rug, she is a real woman who is obligated to inspire real women! Why wouldn’t Obama choose Tracy Reese to join her cult of designers?  

I guess Obama’s message about designers will be more evident in the future, but as for now, I enjoy Obama’s colorblind approach to choosing labels. White, black, asian, hispanic, middle eastern- every race has brilliant designers. Let the first lady wear what makes her unique. Nobody is telling you who to keep in your closet, so why should America tell Obama who to keep in hers? 

Thanks NY Daily!

Check out this buzzed-about designers, Jason Wu, on Videofashion Daily as he talks about his fairytale-inspired collection and his new found fame, in part due to First Lady Michelle Obama.

Glamour Magazine’s Suze Yalof Schwartz goes backstage at Jason Wu to talk to the men behind the beauty magic to tell you how to get the sleek but romantic look.

Jason Wu presented his fall 2009 collection and it was definitely a packed house.  The Obama fame wagon hasn’t left this young designer and he surely will remain one to watch with a collection that has lined up this designer for undoubted greatness.

That’s what we had to say now check out what the rest of the web is saying about Jason Wu’s Fall 2009 Collection

1.) Jezebel: Jason Wu “does this structured yet effortless dress thing so well,” showing “frocks fit for a First Lady — or anyone interested in ladylike ensembles.”

2.) The Cut: “The lovely printed, full-skirted dresses that followed looked like pieces Michelle Obama would wear (she wasn’t at the show, sadly). Wu also showed a number of chiffon gowns in shades of gray, nude, violet, and ivory. Chanel Iman wore a bright-fuchsia-and-red cocktail dress with black beading on the bodice. Anna”—that would be Wintour, obvs—”had a faint smile on her face throughout the show, clapping and grinning once Wu took his bow. She approves!”

3.) Fashionista: The packed show was “filled with very pretty clothes meant more for photographing than anything else” and “We’re sure Michelle will have much to pick from for the coming year.”

GALLARY: Jason Wu Fall Winter 2009

LINKAGE: First Impressions: Jason Wu

Images via Jezebel

Jason Wu’s not going to show fur in his fall ready-to-wear collection. Good for PETA, bad for fur lovers.

Last week we bashed Amnau Eele [photo'd center],  director of Black Artists Association,  for making comments against our first lady’s fashion choices on inauguration day. Rumors have begun to circulate that WWD’s reporting on Amnau’s comments were GREATLY FABRICATED (aka they were one big fat lie).

Basically, Amnau’s emails to WWD didn’t contain any mention of Kumbaya, “Our Moment”, or any of the vicious attacks the former model made about Michelle Obama’s freedom to choose. According to one of our adamant commenters (who compared Amnau bashing to a “lynching”) Amnau is claiming the story is false.

So did some press hungry WWD staffer make-up the story? My guess is no.

Of course the other possibility is that Amnau is just freaking now that members of her association are backing out and she’s received a couple death threats. Is she just realizing that she over stepped her boundaries by trying to speak for black designers (her organization only represents black artists)

My guess is that this former spotlight grabber is desperate to not fade away with a legacy that includes becoming America’s number one reason to hate again.

WWD was not available for comments on this matter.

MORE ON THE SUBJECT

Here is the comment from Janice Webb on Fashion Indie

In the 50’s a white woman would say a black man looked at her and white men would rush to lynch the black man with no proof. I found out today that a white woman at wwd said a black woman said we are the world, kumbaya and it’s our moment, and the world including black people rushed to lynch this black woman named Amnau Eele with no proof. I found out today on the radio that in tomorrow’s Washington, D. C. newspaper, the paper is going to show the e-mail interviews that Amnau Eele did with WWD and guess what? Amnau Eele never said one quote that was printed in the WWD article. not one. All of those Quotes belonged to the WWD writer. This is going to be huge.

Here are some responses from the industry on the issue.

- African American Designer B Michael

“I personally believe it is an unfair expectation to place on the first lady,” he said. “Fashion is subjective and a matter of personal choice.”

- Bethann Hardison (Tyson Beckford’s agent)

“The comment is inappropriate. You don’t wear a designer because they are just black; you wear them because they are great.”

- Karyn D. Collins of Asbury Park Press

“I think we start getting into some dangerous territory when we start expecting someone to look, act, speak, etc. a certain way just because they’re black. I think it does a disservice to the designers in question for suggesting that their work should have been selected because they’re black. I’m sure B Michael, Kevan Hall, Mychael Knight, Tracy Reese, Stephen Burrows and any other black designer would be the first to say they would want their design to be worn because the first lady liked the design, period.”

One day into office and Michelle Obama is already pissing off “her people”. Yeah, I quoted it cause apparently if you’re black there is some race-driven unspoken code of style that requires you to support black designers. Really, is this how it’s going to be folks?

If you’re looking to have your very own Michelle Obama inaugural gown, keep dreaming. Designer Jason Wu will not reproduce the gown for retail sale. 

Linkage: Jason Wu’s “Dream Like” Vision For Michelle Obama (Heard On The Runway/The Wall Street Journal)

Apparently, Jason Wu has a day job (not for long)!!! The designer spends his days designing clothes for dolls. Yeah, I know. FUCKING AWESOME!!! That’s like a billion times better than dressing First Ladies.

Jason Wu, the recent CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund nominee was the choice for Michelle Obama tonight. The dress was a one strap number that will forever place this first lady in the annuls of indie greatness.

LINKAGE: Drumroll Please It’s Jason Wu