“A lot happened in Vancouver. It was my first Western experience. I learned English, which is my second language. I became very acquainted with Western culture. I had my first sewing machine when I was 9. I trained in fashion illustration when I was in school.”

“A lot of my peers don't think about collaborating the way I do. My approach is to imagine my world. The Jason Wu woman isn't just floating around in a beautiful dress. I like to know where she's going, what she likes. I'm not just in the fashion business. I'm in the lifestyle business.”

“A perfectly fitted sheath dress that can take you from day to night is something that every woman should have in her closet. You can't go wrong with black, but a little bit of color is nice. I love a lot of color, personally. You can accessorize a sheath dress. Look at how Michelle Obama accessorizes clothes to make them her own.”

“Being feminine in the way you dress doesn't have to compromise who you are as a woman or your career.”

“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.”

“Designers have always shown outlandish and exuberant clothes, but that hasn't always translated to the streets.”

“I am an Asian designer. I was born in Taiwan. That is who I am. But I am a designer, like any designer of any race. Growing up in the '80s in Taiwan, the arts were not considered a career.”

“I call white the most powerful non-color; it's clean, optimistic, powerful.”

“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.”

“I don't believe that you have to dress in a masculine way to seem powerful. I think that the way a woman dresses doesn't have to be so aggressive. Being feminine is a powerful feature in itself. Power is in a person's demeanor.”

“I don't feel comfortable talking about the specifics of how it all comes together, but the truth is, I don't ever know when Michelle Obama is going to wear my clothes! She, like everyone else, picks her outfits and wears them when she wants - sometimes two or three times. It's not ever calculated.”

“I have been wanting to do beauty for years and to pair with an international beauty company. It will solidify the image of Jason Wu as a world. All my shows have a distinctive hair and makeup look. It feels so natural for me; the woman who wears my clothes would have my makeup as part of her beauty regime.”

“I hope I am the antithesis of disposable fashion.”

“I never thought of myself as being limited to fashion. I'm a designer, and if you have a vision, you can apply that to anything.”

“I saw my potential as artistic director, which is very different from designer. Fashion companies might have USD200 million to USD300 million in annual sales - Hugo Boss has Ÿ?¦2.5 billion. I have to create a world that is believable and also relevant in 7,000 sales points around the world.”

“I think clothing is transformative. When you put something really beautiful on, you feel something. In so many ways, we're always playing a form of dress-up - it's just a grown-up, much chicer version of it. It's nice to be able to be whoever you want to be.”

“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 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.”

“It's quite a pure relationship, designer and muse. I think a beautiful dress on the wrong woman could mean nothing. It has to be the right woman and the right clothes. That's why you need that personal touch.”

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

“I've been known to create clothes that are very formfitting and feminine.”

“My inspirations come from everywhere. It's important to look at everything and anything. I think what I create is serious fashion, but I don't want to keep my focus on that. You have to look at a lot of different things. I mean, people are always surprised when they find out that my favorite show is 'RuPaul's Drag Race.'”

“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.”

“There's something to be said about a girl who knows what she wants. One of my favorite girls to dress is Diane Kruger. It's always so easy with her. I know her body and what works. When it's right, it's not a lot of effort.”

“We all want to be a little glamorous, a little playful and a little mischievous at times.”

“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.”