Jason Wu Spring 2012: Pop Art, Peplum, and Pink

Jason Wu likes a little bit of juxtaposition in his collections, mixing chic glamor with very subtle elements of subversion. This season it’s a print collaboration with a street artist, mixed with peplum and haute couture shapes. Throw in some Pop Art, neon, and chiffon windbreakers and you’ve got Wu’s vision of spring 2012. It’s a vision that worked. The prints, conceived in collaboration with the artist KAWS--who’s best known for warping street advertisements and beloved cartoon characters--did a subtle cartoon-y hand print behind a more classic Wu petal print. This print appeared on pants, blouses, and dresses. Dresses, as befits a Wu lady, were generally belted with fuller skirts to the knee. After a few black and grey looks, the clouds parted and out came the big gun color, continuing the neon theme he hinted at in his resort collection.
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Jason Wu likes a little bit of juxtaposition in his collections, mixing chic glamor with very subtle elements of subversion. This season it’s a print collaboration with a street artist, mixed with peplum and haute couture shapes. Throw in some Pop Art, neon, and chiffon windbreakers and you’ve got

I had the chance to go backstage, which is a pleasure, because Jason Wu likes to play around with his beauty looks. Plus, you get to see goddesses like Arizona Muse and Lindsey Wixson looking human--just like you and me!

The makeup look was matchy-matchy and ladylike, a trend we started seeing last season on runways. Diane Kendal and her MAC team used a scarlet lipstick topped with neon orange loose pigment. (The message overall: Neon is not dead yet.) The rest of the face was clean and glowing. Wu, who’s worked for several seasons with CND (even doing a nail polish line with them) surprised everyone by choosing OPI for nails this season. The nail color, Monsooner or Later, was a poppy red that was a dead ringer for the lips. Hair, which is always interesting at a Jason Wu show, was pulled back into a messy updo and threaded through with small black feathers.

Jason Wu wants you to be a lady, but you better have a sneaky tough side, too.

**Runway photos: Imaxtree

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