Business & Finance Club - Style : While Michelle Obama sojourns in southern Ontario this weekend, one big question is what designers she is wearing. One likely choice? Jason Wu.

Since the first lady wore his designs at her husband's inauguration and on the cover of Vogue last year, Jason Wu has become a household name. And the momentum hasn't slowed. Two weeks ago, the Council of Fashion Designers of America awarded the 27-year-old one of the industry's most prestigious distinctions: the Swarovski Award for Womenswear.

Born in Taiwan, Wu spent his childhood in Vancouver, where he mastered sewing by making clothing for dolls.

After spending a year in France and studying at the Parsons School of Design, he launched his namesake label in 2006 and quickly garnered a reputation for his sophisticated collections.

The New York-based boy wonder visited Toronto last month to show off the jewel-toned, gold-leafed decadence of his fall 2010 collection.

We're witnessing a high point in young American fashion with you, Alexander Wang, Prabal Gurung, Richard Chai and Joseph Altuzarra taking the lead.

There didn't used to be young designers – maybe local designers but not to the extent where these collections are known internationally. When I look [in shops] ... my clothes are hanging next to Dior and Balmain and McQueen and Alaia – collections I looked up to when I was a student. To be in the company of those labels says a lot about what's going on in American fashion right now.

What's been the biggest change to your lifestyle in the past two years?

All the increasing demands. I've chosen to take a very personal approach to the way I run my business and sell clothes. I know a lot of my clients and have relationships with them.

Do you consider yourself Canadian at all?

Definitely. I spent a huge part of my childhood here. I moved to America when I was 16 and have been there ever since, but I cherish my time in Vancouver. It was where I learned English.

Are there rules to fashion any more?

No, I think the rule is no rules. It's the one thing in everyone's lives where you can be a little creative.

There's been talk of you getting into men's wear. Any updates?

Not yet. I mean, my fall collection was heavily inspired by men's wear. There's just still so much I want to extend in women's.

Like your new line of sunglasses? Why enter into the world of accessories with eyewear instead of handbags or shoes, as is the norm?

I want to make things that are iconic, timeless and that last more than one season. If you think back to all the fashionable women icons of our time, they all had signature sunglasses. So in that spirit, I named my first four styles after women that are quite fabulous – Jean Seberg, Amelia Earhart, Joan Jett and Mia Farrow. They're also an instant way to chic up a wardrobe.

What did you learn from making doll clothing?

Although fashion and toy design are two very different careers, I think having an eye for details is quite universal. It's in art, it's in product design, it's in fashion design. [I'm] never letting anything just be sloppy. I want everything to be perfect.

Do you think your age works for or against you?

It works for me. I get to see the world with a very fresh set of eyes and I think it gives my work a unique edge.

How do you spend your downtime?

When I have it, I like to cook and entertain. I make hearty things. It's so funny because I never grew up in the South, but I love Southern food.

Your business reportedly made $4-million in sales last year. Do you set goals?

This year, we'll double the business – we've already exceeded last year. We're really taking a step forward in not only growing the collection but pushing the business to that next level. And I think it's really that understanding of fashion and commerce that's made us successful.

So five years from now, what will we see?

Five years from now, it's going to be the lifestyle [collection] of Jason Wu – it's going to be everything.

This means you're in it for the long run.

I'm in it for the long run. I'm in it for life. I can't imagine doing anything else.