Quotes from Jason Wu

I've always loved the rustic, slightly worn style of Canvas and that element of an artisanal hand. It's so inherently chic.

I had a hard time in middle school. I was never really quite me until I was 16 or 17, and things like bullying didn't matter anymore.

Anyone who knows me knows that I don't know anything about politics. Every time I go to Washington, I feel like I'm in Legally Blonde.

Buy things you truly love, things that are special, but not a lot of them. It's about value, not quantity.

I saw my potential as artistic director, which is very different from designer. Fashion companies might have $200 million to $300 million in annual sales - Hugo Boss has €2.5 billion. I have to create a world that is believable and also relevant in 7,000 sales points around the world.

I happen to like selling clothes as much as creating them. It isn't relevant unless it sells.

I would buy Barbies and take them apart and then remake their looks. I used them for hairstyling. It was a whole process. I had a lot of dolls - like 150.

I'm an American designer. It's important to riff on that. I remember, when my mom and I first came to the States, she was so shocked that everyone was so dressed down in sandals and shorts. It's not quite like that in Asia. To give that a superluxurious makeover? For me to make street wear? It's sort of chic to do it.

I worked 10 years as a toy designer before I started my career as a fashion designer. It's something I just fell into and really liked.

I came from product design originally - I had been designing dolls for a toy company since I was 16 - so I'm used to working with plastic and different things. I had an innate interest in objects.

My mom is a really good cook. We used to make dumplings together.

I love a little bit of glamour and I love tall girls.

I love the romance of Paris. I love Angelina [tearoom and pastry shop]. I always get a Mont-blanc [pastry] there.

When I moved to America, I knew I wanted to be a designer. I never imagined one of my dresses would end up in the Smithsonian.

I dress some of the most successful women in the world, and meeting these women rubs off on you. A few years ago, the woman was someone I imagined in my head. Now they're real. It's important my work evolve along with me and that I show more facets of myself.

My cats are really sassy and sophisticated, but most importantly, they are picky.

Brizo has been my single biggest sponsor since I began as a designer. Brizo wanted to be involved in many different areas of design - they had already worked with several architects, and fashion was an area they were interested in moving into.

As a designer you have to just do whatever you want to do. The second I came to terms with that, it transformed my work.

The worst thing is to be a designer and create work that isn't honest. You have to be honest. Otherwise, you'll always be a reaction to what other people do and you'll always be one step behind.

That's the fun thing about fashion: it changes. One day, we're into short, the next we're into full length for day, or half short and long.