Fashion designer Jason Wu stays in focus amid Michelle Obama whir

His whirlwind year started as a finalist for sponsorship and mentoring by the Council of Fashion Designers of America/Vogue Fashion Fund and winner of the Fashion Group International's rising-star award.
But with all eyes on the new first lady as she emerged to attend the inaugural balls, Wu didn't have a chance to call his family in Taiwan to tell them the white, one-shoulder gown she was wearing was his design. They saw it on CNN first.
"Has there ever been an event with so many people watching?" the youthful designer wonders with wide eyes in his Garment District studio, which, despite his new celebrity, is sparse and reached by a rickety closet-size elevator.
Still, Wu's place in fashion history is sealed: Obama's dress will live at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. It was a "life-changing event," Wu says.
Obama has worn Wu on many other occasions too, including her recent appearance on the cover of Vogue magazine in a berry-coloured sheath.
He is fashion's man of the hour, delivering a much-heralded fall collection in front of a packed house of the industry's boldface names and fielding more requests for interviews in the last six weeks than the previous 26 years of his life.
The Obama effect, Wu says, certainly is helping him during the economic downturn; he has even added staff while most apparel companies are shedding workers. "This is a year when it will be very difficult for any business younger than 10 years to get through."
But, he adds, he knows he can't ride this wave forever: "I know I have to make this all count."
NEW YORK — Designer Jason Wu couldn't even tell his mother that he was working on a gown for Michelle Obama when he worked day and night during the holiday season.