Jason Wu: Resort 2011

Designer clothes Jason Wu returned to the St. Regis hotel, site of his Spring 2010 show, to present his new collection. On each guest's chair was a box of macaroons made by Alain Ducasse's restaurant Adour, downstairs. "Resort should be like dessert," the Swarovski Womenswear Award nominee said. Specifically, a French one. There was a Parisian flavor to the collection, from the Coco-esque straw boaters to the tweedy skirtsuits to the sailor-stripe sweaters and full menswear pants. On the garçon-ish side of the equation, Wu had a couple of the shorts suits that have quickly turned into a big Resort trend.









As any Michelle Obama-watcher knows, though, sweet little dresses are this designer's stock-in-trade. The best today came in a persimmon-hued, pressed daffodil-printed short-sleeve style with a mille-feuille skirt. The pattern appeared later on breezy, bias-cut chiffon gowns with ruffle-edged plunging-V backs. But with its elbow-length sleeves and the very French jabot at the neck, the dove gray floor-scraper (the same color as those delicious macaroons, as it happens) was the freshest evening look. If the mixed reviews he received for Fall gave Wu pause, there was no sign of it here in this assured collection.