Michelle Obama lauds Taiwan-born Jason Wu

At the ceremony to donate the now famous one-shouldered, white goddess gown to the National Museum of American History, Mrs. Obama said she likes the dress very much because it is simple and elegant.

More importantly, she added, it was designed by a young immigrant who came to the United States to pursue his dream.

First lady Obama encouraged a group of students from Huntington High School's fashion design department, who were invited to the ceremony, to take Wu as a role model.

With determination and perseverance, Mrs. Obama told them, you may emerge as yet another Jason Wu or another Barack Obama.

For his part, Wu said it was not until he saw the first lady on television at the inauguration ball that he realized she had chosen one of his designs.

It was a surprise beyond his imagination and an affirmation that the U.S. is truly a land of promise, the 26 year-old designer said. In the United States, everything is possible, once one makes the effort, he added.

Wu expressed his heart-felt gratitude to the first lady for selecting one of his designs as her inauguration ball gown. This has given him enormous encouragement, he said.

His emotional speech won thunderous applause. In an interview with the Central News Agency after the ceremony, Wu said having one of his fashion designs become a part of U.S. history was a life-changing experience.

Wu said he hopes to be able to return to Taiwan for a visit this year.

The National Museum of American History, one of the Smithsonian Institution museums located on The Mall in Washington D.C., has been collecting inauguration gowns of U.S. first ladies since 1912. So far, the museum has 24 dresses worn by U.S. first ladies, including 12 worn on inauguration days.

Wu left Taiwan and moved to Vancouver, Canada at the age of 9 where he learned to sew by designing and making doll clothes. He went on to study sculpture in Tokyo and later enrolled in Parsons the New School for Design, a college in New York City.

At age 16, Wu began to make freelance doll clothing designs and later traveled around the world to study fashion design. Four years ago, he launched his own fashion store in New York with earnings from his years of doll designs.

first full collection debuted in 2006 and he won the Fashion Group International's Rising Star award in 2008.

Subscribe to The China Post and save 25%. Click here

SharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email