When you put something down on paper, it has the potential to live forever. (We are still reading Shakespeare, for example.) Wu was taught calligraphy as a child, but his chosen medium is fabric.
Wu did adapt some of Tong’s as prints, but more important was the way the work inspired his own. The opening look was a coat that was screenprinted after it had been produced, which left some of the under-fabric exposed. Nodding to painters’ canvas, the designer incorporated this material into his collection this season, where it shared space with silk, chiffon, and muslin.
Yet it was ink, murky yet fluid, that really captured his imagination; he worked a lot with flou for spring, and lightness. This was reflected in his palette, a mix of pastels and black-and-white. In the not so distant past, Wu’s name was synonymous with ladylike dressing and couture references, often to Charles James.
But for the past few collections he has embraced perfect imperfection and put as much focus on tailoring, daywear, and knits, as his much-coveted dresses. Familiar from last season were plissés and distressing, as well as some Yohji-isms. Spring offered the surprise of some fetching menswear—Wu is an alumni of Hugo Boss—and shoes with Sergio Rossi.
Among the loveliest touches was the insertion of wafty chiffon into tailored pieces; you can see it peeking out from the hem of a jacket of a robin’s egg-blue shorts suit, and undulating from the exposed seams of a sort of trench/robe hybrid.