Jason Wu, the Taiwanese couturier who designed the dress U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama wore to President Obama’s inauguration ceremony, returned to Taiwan before the Double Tenth Festival to attend his older brother’s wedding banquet. Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou invited him to the Presidential Mansion. Wu also designed the gold and coffee colored dress Taiwan First Lady Zhou Mei-qing wore to the Double Tenth celebration.
曾為美國第一夫人蜜雪兒（Michelle Obama）設計歐巴馬總統就職典禮禮服、引起國際注目的吳季剛（Jason Wu），雙十國慶前，為了參加哥哥的婚禮返台；總統馬英九特別接見，總統夫人周美青則在國慶大會上，穿著吳季剛設計的深咖啡金連身洋裝亮相，高貴優雅，讓民眾更認識這位台灣之光。
Jason Wu was born in Taipei in 1982 and had enjoyed playing with Barbie dolls when he was a child. He designed dresses for Barbie when he was just five years old. His mother not only did not object to this, but even bought him a fashion magazine. His family emigrated to Vancouver, Canada when he was nine years old. He went to Japan when he was fourteen years old to study sculpture and later completed his high school education in Paris. In 1998 at 16 years old, Wu joined a Barbie Doll dress design competition. He won the category for evening gown and wedding dress. He started working for a well-known toy company at 18 years old and design a limited edition of dresses for dolls that were completely sold out. He started to make a name for himself in 2006 in New York’s fashionable district.
吳季剛1982年出生在台北，從小喜歡芭比娃娃，5歲就替娃娃設計服裝，母親非但沒有阻止，還買服裝雜誌給他參考。9歲時，他與家人移民加拿大溫哥華，14歲前往日本學習雕刻藝術，之後在巴黎完成高中學業。1998年，年僅16歲的吳季剛參加芭比服裝設計賽，獲得最佳晚宴服及新娘禮服獎，18歲就被知名玩具公司延攬，凡是打上Jason Wu的限量版娃娃常被搶購一空。2006年，他自創服裝品牌，開始在紐約時裝界嶄露頭角。
Two years ago, Wu designed an evening gown for Mrs. Obama with ivory accessories. It caught the fashion world by surprise and ended up among the collection of the Smithsonian Museum, the first time for the museum. President Ma, impressed at his track record in the fashion world, asked Wu: How is it that you enjoyed much freedom in your family? Wu responded: My family taught me to follow my heart. He also suggested that parents let their children follow their own interests and develop their own styles.
兩年前，吳季剛為蜜雪兒設計的象牙白斜肩垂地長禮服驚豔全場，目前已被史密森博物館收藏，成為美國歷史的一部分。馬總統接見吳季剛時，非常肯定他在服裝設計上的優異表現，並好奇詢問：「你們家怎麼會給予你這麼大的自由？」吳季剛表示：「從小到大，我的家庭教育告訴我，做自己就好」，他也建議父母讓孩子按照自己的興趣發展，找到自己的風格。
This point echoes President Ma’s view as he believes that Taiwan needs more parents like Wu’s mother in order to develop the nation’s cultural and creative industries. The key helps Wu realize his dream is his mother’s encouragement, openness, and a good amount of time spent with him.
針對這點，馬總統相當認同，認為台灣要發展文化創意產業，就需要更多的「吳季剛媽媽」，因為用鼓勵、開放的心態教養小孩，花很多時間陪伴，才能讓吳季剛實踐夢想。
Wu feels happy and surprised to be embraced and welcomed in a grand manner after returning to Taiwan. “I am Taiwanese; no matter where I go, I was born in Taiwan,” said Wu. Wu believes that his success is closely related to Chinese philosophy of handling affairs. In other words, “no pain, no gain,” which is his own “Taiwan personality.”
面對返台後受到熱烈歡迎，吳季剛感到開心又驚訝，他說「我是台灣人，不管去哪裡，還是台灣生的。」吳季剛也認為，他的成功與東方處事哲學大有關係，就是「努力總是會有收穫」，這是他身上的「台灣特質」。
As for young Taiwanese people who think about having a career as designers, Wu suggests them to widen their world perspective and see things outside their fields of study to invigorate themselves to push out the boundary of creativity. Wu hopes to make Taiwan’s apparel industry a focal point in the international community, and he believes Taiwan’s fashion industry will see more and more successful stories.
對於想從事設計的台灣年輕人，吳季剛則建議他們要多出去看看，不光是看專業，更要多看專業以外的東西，才能激發更多創意。他也希望藉由這次回台，讓國際社會聚焦台灣服飾產業，相信台灣時尚圈未來一定會有更多成功的例子。
