I first met Ping at a contributors' meeting for this magazine. We got to talking, and she told me that she was setting up a fashion-design line here in her hometown after years and years abroad but that she was eager to get involved in the international community in Chengdu. We stayed in touch; she periodically returned to Chengdu to visit family and penned several memoir-style pieces for the magazine. One day late last year I got an e-mail from her that said she would be on American reality show Project Runway, in which 16 fashion designers with varying degrees of experience compete against each other. The show, spearheaded by enterprising supermodel Heidi Klum, is in its seventh season. This was a Big Deal: Ping, boisterous, all limbs, who speaks English with an unexplainable hint of a French accent and who once wondered, as she failed to get online, how her computer knew her name. Ping, from the sleepy Chinese city of Chengdu, would be on primetime.

Born into a family of Chengdu's elite, Western-educated doctors (her grandfather was the first Chinese president of Huaxi University), Ping the child always knew she would go abroad one day. She fantasized about her future in film. But after a serious bout with hepatitis A delivered a blow of reality, she quit the fake world of movies and followed her family into a healthcare profession—physical therapy ("it has the shortest history and thus best potential to combine Western and Eastern approaches," she says). She earned her degree in the U.S. and started working by the age of 21. Looking to fill her evenings after work, she signed up for community courses in ceramics, discovered her artistic flair and passion for working with materials, and enrolled in an eight-month fashion-design course in Milan and subsequent internship in Paris. In 2008, Ping Wu Design Studio was launched. The line's hand-knit accessories are made in Chengdu and sell in boutiques in Japan, France, and the U.S. She relocated to New York late last year. "I'm quite optimistic for my Tiger Year," she told me in early January.

Later that month, the new season of Project Runway started airing. Ping finished among the top three designers in the first round with what appeared to be a no-sew garment: Large pieces of fabric draped on and around the model's body. Drama between the designers occupied most of the show's airtime. Ping, the Asian lady with the Accent. Ping, the excitable scatterbrain. Ping, the creative genius? Entertainment bloggers went nuts: That design was horrible! Ping is a nutcase! Are the judges crazy? The next week, things took a turn for the worse: Ping's potato-sack garment left the model's rear end clearly visible as she walked down the runway ("I did check the split in the back of the skirt when she was standing. I couldn't see her buttocks. If she had walked, I would for sure notice the problem," she said in her defense). But the (sewing) needle and the damage done: By the third show, Ping was eliminated. In real life, she typed her name into Google and read nasty things written by people who had never talked to her. Then she strengthened her bases for the flood of invitations to shows and orders for her designs. Tiger Year indeed.

Finding Her Way
My mom insisted that if I want to study abroad, then she would send my father to be with me, and I hated that idea. I hated to have a pre-set life path under my family influence. I always very much want to see what I can do in an environment where nobody knows my family. I want to earn the respect with my own ability.

Back in the early '90s, a lot of [Chinese] people just wanted to go to abroad, they didn't wanna come back, but it was never in my mind. I chose physical therapy at the time as there was no such field in China—now China started to have this field, and they desperately need people in this. I planned to establish the first physical-therapy clinic in China, and when I realized I wasn't the first one, I was quite upset. But now I fell in love with fashion design, so I guess I have to delay my physical therapy dream.

I choose each field because it serves something to my soul. I love physical therapy. I love the interaction with people and helping people, and I really love my patients. I'm much more a therapist than a designer, I guess. I perfectly see the connection because I know the human body, I'm an expert in human movement. And also I always imagine how the body would feel once you put the clothes on.

I started making my own clothes, and of course I didn't invest in any sewing machines, and I did not understand the pattern-making books, so I just made my own way, and it was a coincidence that I was invited by some serious ladies to their show-and-tell dinner party. I brought the pieces I made, and all these serious ladies—professionals—loved what I made. So I was thinking if I can make things without even studying, and so many people like it, then I bet I can make even better things if I really studied seriously.

When I went to study fashion design I was almost 29—quite embarrassing actually—I did not realize how terrible it was until I was there. Age was a huge factor in the fashion world, especially in Europe. And I [had always been] the youngest in my class, so it was a very new experience to feel discriminated against for your age and also for your gender. Most of the program itself is extremely intense—it's like if you shrink a four-year program into eight months. I was the only student who really knew nothing—absolutely zero—about fashion. When the teacher asked us who is our favorite designer, I was like, "I don't know." During the new-student orientation everybody's wearing Gucci, Prada, Chanel, from teacher to students, all wearing black. It's crazy to me.

Being Chinese in Fashion and Fashion in China
I'm always Chinese, regardless. I've been abroad for 16 years, and I've never changed my nationality; I still kept my Chinese passport. When I was in Milan, my teacher saw my collection and said, 'Ping, you are a very different Chinese student. Your design—if I look at the work, I won't be able to tell it's designed by a Chinese. It's very Oriental influenced, but it's very Western.' And I think that's me.

I think China has—especially young designers—more and more designers finding their own voice. They are not just copying Western designs. And sometimes I think it doesn't have to be a enemy situations. When I was in Chicago, I know there are some designers absolutely against anything manufactured in China. And I think that is really being ignorant.

People have a lot of buying power in Chengdu. And the clothing actually are quite expensive. I think it's the culture, that clothes somehow are quite important for Chengdu girls. But from a fashion point of view, I feel it's less inspiring. People dress pretty much the same way. In the States a lot of people are wearing very casually. And they don't care about what other people may say about their way of looking. But here they really dress for the look. However, the way they put together things are very much expected.

Ping Wu Design Studio
I can do all kinds of designs—I think I can really design very good shoes because of my therapy background. My specialty is outpatient orthopedics. I actually also did jewelry design first—I didn't continue because you need a lot of money to invest in good materials, good machine. And I think I can also design very good medical equipment, such as walkers, very fashionable and very simple, elegant walkers. I would love to design for medical staff, nurses and doctors and therapists, hospital uniforms. But for my own business, I would like it to be successful in a small niche first. That's why I chose hand-knit fashion accessories: hats, scarves, gloves, shoes, masks, ear mufflers.

When I was 5 years old, my classmate, a 6-year-old child, taught me how to knit. And then when I went home that day, my mom told me how to knit purl. So these two stitches I learned when I was 5 years old, and I never touched needles and yarns for more than 20 years.

Technique for me is just a tool. But my concern is not about technical stuff, because if I want to create certain shapes, I can always hire an expert in pattern-making. What I think most important for designer is the mind—is the creative mind—because this is something no one else could replace you.

People who want to buy my products are very creative people—they want to play with, interact, create their customized, unique look. So even if two customers, three customers, five customers bought the same hat, same scarf, they can wear multiple different ways. When they met each other on the street, they won't look the same.

I think design should be based on function, and if you can find a beautiful and easy way to deliver that function, then that is a smart design. My first piece was a scarf that could also be used as a hat, and also a mask. And also a pair of gloves. I will never design any piece that I myself will not want to wear. Design should come from inside out. I think a lot of pieces are more focused on the look, and I think that is quite superficial. Functionality is the only timeless trend.

Ping on the Runway
Ever since I returned to the States in 2006, my colleagues were telling me, "Ping, you should get on Project Runway," and I never paid attention 'cause I thought that was pretty far from what I do, fashion accessories. Making garments wasn't my immediate concern. I had a relatively easy schedule at the time, so I was basically looking for things to fulfill my schedule, and then I received an e-mail with a big title "The Deadline is coming close." I just automatically jump into anything that says "Deadline" so I read their requirement, just out of curiosity; I never thought I would apply. I looked at all their questions and application, and I thought I can answer all of them easily. I finished and submit my application the night before the deadline, and of course I never thought I would get selected—never. It's a nationwide search, thousands of people apply, and I was the only one from the Midwest. All the other 15 designers are from the coasts, and a lot of Asian designers also apply—Japanese, Korean, Chinese—but I guess I was lucky.

I never thought I could make clothes in one day, or two days—never thought that. I really shocked myself. Another thing is I was the designer on the show with the least experience in actual making garments. I have not touched industrial sewing machine for years. But I'm a very fast learner. I really made the design freshly on the spot, from really nothing, and learned sewing machine on the spot. I designed that first look without a single cut because I didn't have enough fabric—it's problem-solving. You want to make complicated pieces look effortless. I think a real good design, a smart design is the one that makes people go, "Wow, why didn't I think of that?"

Money and Sex
I personally feel Vogue is such a reputable magazine and this and that, but I feel like it's a marketing tool for luxury brands. The whole fashion industry is based on this, the image. If you don't have a very powerful marketing tool then why would people spend thousands of dollars on your products? If you really think about fashion, it's all about two things: money and sex. You buy expensive products to show off your status. So even though I'm in the fashion-design world, I still question this business as a whole.

This article by Jane Voodikon was originally published in CHENGDOO citylife Magazine, issue 31 ("success and failure"). Photos by Ping Wu.

http://www.gochengdoo.com/en/blog/item/1924/from_chengdu_to_chicago_by_design_no_one_has_no_impression_of_ping_wu

Labels: Ping Wu, Project Runway, Project Runway Season 7, Project Runway T Lo Interviews, T Lo Interviews

Ping like ping pong and Wu like "Wooo!"

Darlings, from the minute we first encountered Ping in her audition video for Project Runway, we knew she was going to become a much talked-about member of the S7 cast. Since everything from her personal style to her designs to her auf'ing have been discussed far more than any other contestant in a while, we figured we'd whip out our inner Barbara Walters and give it a go.

So you left China when you were 17?
Yes, I came to the United States from Chengdu, China, alone as a teenager. I went to the University of Pittsburgh, I lived there for 3 years studying English, while I was there, I was double-majoring in Biology and Psychology. I also went to SUNY Buffalo to study Physical Therapy.

When did you discover your passion for fashion?
I truly believe that everyone has a gift. I always loved craft works ever since I was a little girl. I was very good with my fingers [laughs]. I’ve always liked to create things, but I didn’t realize that it really was a sign that I could be a good designer. Of course, I went to all the best schools that I could possibly go to. I was very comfortable being a physical therapist, but I had a lot of spare time and I was alone, I’m still alone [laughs] so I worked from 9 to 5 and then “what do I do?” from 6 until the next morning? I took some arts classes, including ceramic, I also picked up my childhood love, hand knitting, and I also made greeting cards.

My friend convinced me to go to farmers' market with her to sell my cards. I realized that my customers were all professors in the arts field and they bought as many as I could produce. So I was thinking, “Well, if I can make two-dimensional paper greeting cards, I bet I can make clothes.” It’s a different medium but you just turn that into a three-dimensional column and it is clothes. I hand-made my own clothes because I didn’t understand the pattern book and everybody loved it. I thought that if I could make clothes without any training and people like them I guess I could do a much better job if I studied it professionally.

Where did you study fashion?
I enrolled in the Istituto Marangoni in Milan, Italy. After I completed my studies in Fashion Design, I interned with designer Luisa Beccaria in Milan and later with BLESS in Paris.

And in March 2007 you were invited to participate in the Qi Pai Cup Costume Creation Contest during Beijing’s International Fashion Week.
After I finished my internship in Paris, purely by luck, I was invited to this amazing international fashion week with these seven famous Chinese designers but nobody knew me [laughs]. My clothes were so different, the judges just loved them. The reason why I wanted to participate was that the winner of each category would win a chance to show their collection in this trade show called Premiere Classe in Paris. The salon director loved my collection so she told me that even though I didn’t win she would invite me to the show in Paris and she did.

That’s amazing.
They didn’t know that I was just a freshly graduated student. I had no business established but I did not miss that chance. I took some business classes during the evening for several months. I gathered all the business knowledge I needed or at least to make myself more confident to set up a business, I created the entire collection and went to Paris in September 2007 for the show.

Is that true that the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art bought the entire collection?
That’s true. They were my first customers. I still thank them until this day. They were the ones who discovered me. What happened was that one day I went to their store wearing my own clothes just to check on the museum, so the buyer for accessories immediately saw me and asked me about my outfit and I told her I had made it. She was intrigued and asked if I made anything else. I told her that I made accessories. She made an appointment with me the next day and she bought my entire collection.

We love that hat shown in the casting video. Is knitting your main thing?
Thank you. Actually, my interests are much broader than just knitting. I chose knitting for my current line because it’s the easiest way to manufacture your own textiles. It’s the easiest way to produce the shape you want, to create the patterns quickly; all you need is two needles and you can go anywhere with it. I’m also interested in bamboo, weaving techniques with, also high-tech materials.

You also make jewelry.
Yes, I also do jewelry. I have very high standards for the kind of look I want to achieve and sometimes to create the looks I want I really need equipment and materials and for now I’m not ready to produce really high-quality pieces.

Why did you decide to be on the show?
My colleagues have been bugging me to get on the show for a couple of years, ever since I returned to America from Europe. I never felt connected to Project Runway because I was doing mainly accessories. I only make clothes in the spare time that I have for myself. I’m always busy doing a lot of things and during the application period I had some free time and looking for thing to fill up my schedule so I decided to try. Worst case scenario, they don’t choose me.

Did you enjoy the experience?
Yes, for sure. Thousands of people applied and only sixteen of us were selected; the entire America meeting little Ping. It was quite an honor. I think I’m the first native Chinese designer being selected.

You have an impressive resume obviously, and you’re quite talented, and yet you were eliminated so soon. What do you think went wrong?
Well, a few people told me that my design style doesn’t fit in what the majority of the American audience thinks. It’s not the kind of style that people are used to seeing. I also think that in the last challenge wasn’t a very successful team work. I think that’s the main reason why I was eliminated. A lot of things didn’t air, but I had a lot of problems during that challenge.

Do you think if it hadn’t been a team challenge you’d still be on the show?
I mean, of course. Life cannot be replayed or repeated, but I think it if had been my own work, genuine work, genuine design…even if I had been sent home anyway, I wouldn’t feel the same. I took 100% of the consequences, it was my responsibility, but the work wasn’t 100% mine. I had much more interesting designs before that I made. It was just complicated to make the team work towards the vision that I wanted. I had to compromise for the team to move on.

How was it working with Jesse?
It was very difficult to work with Jesse. When I chose him, I purely chose him for his skills. Before that challenge, he appeared to be a very quiet, nice guy. I thought he was humble [Laughs]. Oh my god, I thought we were a perfect team and that my vision was my strength. I thought we could both contribute with different sets of skills and make this brilliant work. He could not understand my vision, how to realize my design. He forced me to listen to him, he forced to go into directions he wanted. I don’t hate him by any means, I don’t know him personally, but I think as a team you have to respect…I’m taking the majority of the responsibility, you’re my team member, you were chosen by me, you should follow me. He was against me every step. It was very sad, very sad.

It didn’t help that the model complained about you.
See, they cut my reply during the final airing, which also made me quite upset. When she said that I was very calm, I didn’t blame her or anything. I said to the judges that we worked as a team. We have two designers, two models. I was trying out my garment on the first model. It is not unreasonable to expect Jesse to work on his design with his model who worked with him in the previous two challenges. He knows her body the best. Why did I have to do everything by myself? I was busy with one model, why couldn’t he take care of the other one?

Do you think you went home because of Jesse?
I could’ve told the judges what was truly going on behind the curtains, but I didn’t. There’s a reason why the final looks don’t even match and it’s not my fault. It’s because I’m Chinese, I never sell my team mates. I never disclose problems with my team mates. If I tell the judges two, three things that happened, does that make me a better person? I don’t think so.

Did he spend a lot of time teaching you how to sew?
Well, that’s another thing that they cut off of my response. Immediately after he said that I said, “Why don’t you tell the judges what you have taught me?” and he was silent. His interpretation of my style is just putting fabrics on. That’s absolutely not what my style really is, even though it does look drape-y as if there were no skills involved.

We have to say that a lot of people feel that your designs are nothing but draped fabrics on the body. What do you have to say in your defense?
I think that’s a very superficial judgment. It’s the same level as Jesse’s interpretation of my design style. I think there are multiple solutions to a problem, any given problem. The simplest solution is the most difficult to find. It’s the cleverest way to solve the problem. So, I think a real good design, a smart design is the one that people go “Wow, why didn’t I think of that?” I designed that first look without a single cut because I didn’t have enough fabric. It’s problem solving. You want to make complicated pieces look effortless. Same thing with my accessories, they are very easy to make. If I told you the trick you’d think that it was so easy. It’s still functional and gorgeous. That’s a skill. There’s intelligence involved. If you think from a business point of view, if you spend less time introducing your product, you save a lot of money and you can produce much more. It’s much more profitable.

When you were crying on the runway you said that Anthony turned to you and said “Don’t ever change, Ping.”
Yes, he did. I knew I was going to be eliminated if I didn’t betray or disclose the internal problems with Jesse. I was prepared and calm. I was so glad that he said that, I love Anthony. I love Seth Aaron. He looked very scary in the beginning but he’s a very sweet guy. After he gave me a hug he whispered that to me. That made me feel very special and I started to cry.

So, what’s next for Ping?
I think I walked a long way before the show. I’m an extremely hard worker, so that’s not going to change because of the show. I will continue my career, my passion for creating designs. Huge commercial success is not my priority, to be honest with you. There are many ways to make money. I live a good life just being a physical therapist. The reason why I pursue fashion design it’s because I really feel that it fits my soul, I can bring something different, unique to this world. I will definitely continue this and I will not base my success on a show. I think you have to earn every bit of your success.

You’re very talented, you have a very unique style and we wish you all the best.
Thank you, guys.

Click Here: http://projectrungay.blogspot.com/2010/02/t-lo-interviews-ping-wu.html

I have trust issues with "Project Runway." I've been burned before by the show, which returns on Lifetime 9 p.m. Central Thursday.

Season 6 was the show's first outing on Lifetime, and many fans worried that it would be different than the Bravo editions of the catwalk chronicle.

Prs7 Though the fashion contest had temporarily relocated to Los Angeles, the first Season 6 episode was not much different than past "Runway" incarnations. However "Runway's" Season 6 turned out to be a dud in the long run, largely because the usual judges, Michael Kors and Nina Garcia, were missing for most of it.

Another problem with Season 6: The designers just weren't that impressive (a problem that also afflicted "Runway's" slapdash, slack final season on Bravo).

Thanks to the lack of drama in the workroom, the lack of pizazz on the runway and the infuriating decisions of the judging panels, which were dominated by an array of guest judges, the first Lifetime season of "Runway" just didn't work for me. I gave my best Tim Gunn sigh, threw up my hands, and walked away from the whole hot mess midway through the season.

This year, the show is back in New York -- thank goodness -- and so are the wonderfully waspish Kors and Garcia. And the contestants in Season 7 seem to have a reasonable amount of talent. Still, we're still in Too Early to Tell territory as far as the new season of "Runway" is concerned.

Will the challenges, which notably lacked creativity in Season 6, be more inspiring and surprising this time around? The first challenge of Season 7 is not reassuring on this front. Will the contestants have not just interesting personalities but design aesthetics worth paying attention to? There are a few interesting garments on the runway Thursday, but all in all, whether the contestants or their clothes will be compelling remains to be seen.

The first episode of Season 7 is pleasant, but upcoming episodes will tell the tale. If the new edition of "Runway" is boring or blah, you can believe I'll be focusing the fashion-addicted part of my brain on the fabulosity of "RuPaul's Drag Race," which begins its second season Feb. 1 on Logo.

The latest bunch of contestants on “Project Runway” are the usual mix of young strivers and veteran stylehounds. One of the most distinctive personalities to emerge in the season premiere is the irrepressible Ping Wu, a designer who was born in China but most recently lived in Chicago.

She made an impression on her fellow designers by draping her materials on her own body while working, and her aesthetic appears to be far more avant-garde than that of the typical “Runway” contestants. Wu is  in China visiting family, but when she returns, she’ll be living in New York. Via e-mail, Wu, who has also worked as a physical therapist, talked about her fashion training, her unconventional design process and her ties to the Midwest, China and New York.

(The dialogue below has been edited and condensed.)

Pr7-ping Can you talk a bit about your training as a designer?

I was admitted to the most prestigious fashion design school, Istituto Marangoni, in Italy for eight months of intense training from 2004-2005. I was almost 29 when I entered this field. My parents thought I’d lost my mind. My German design teacher shouted at me, “Your name is the most boring name in the world! No one would ever remember it! Don’t ever use it for any brands!” You can imagine the humiliation.

No one believed I could go far. My life in Milan was pure hell. But the experience, the training and the knowledge I gained about the industry during that time was extraordinary! Later, I was accepted for another internship in Paris. In comparison, those were days in heaven. Looking back, I’m very thankful that I had such an extremely tough beginning — it forced me to see things through without any mercy or fantasy.

Do you always drape your garments on yourself as you design?

Not always. I do sketch or play with plastic bags or tissue paper to experiment with the forms. But I feel more natural and direct and I have more ideas flow in me when I drape the fabrics on myself in front of a mirror. I want my entire body to interact with my ideas, and provide me with accurate feedback instantly.

How did you end up living in Chicago?

I lived Champaign-Urbana for four years prior to moving to Chicago in 2004. At the time, it was purely because Chicago is the closest cosmopolitan city to Champaign-Urbana, where the majority of my close friends are. When I returned to the U.S. after my fashion studies in 2006, I purposely chose Chicago to set up my small business because of the people here! They are laid back and super-friendly. I felt my business could develop better here during its infancy. Sure enough, I was right. The Ping Wu brand was born and (grew) under the support of kind (Chicago-based consultants).

Now, it’s time for me to bring my business to a bigger stage to further its development while I still have the energy and ambition. That’s why I moved to New York City a few months ago. As (designer) Yohji Yamamoto said, “I’m walking back to the future facing where I came from.”

What do you feel you learned from being on “Project Runway”?

No matter what social roles you choose to play in society — designers, stylists, models, therapist, teachers etc. — they’re just the hats we put on our heads. Underneath, you have to be a decent human being first and foremost. Then love and beauty will show through your work in a powerful and genuine way.

Did you become friends with any of the other designers?

Oh for sure! I believe unique experiences bond people together, especially those that we can’t easily explain to others.

Had you watched past seasons of "Project Runway"? Were you glad it was back in New York this season?

Well, to be quite honest, I've never paid attention on the locations of the show! Why would it matter? I was glad the show was in New York, however, because I was going to move there afterwards. So it was like a warm-up for me.

What was your favorite “Project Runway” memory?

I deeply cherish every second of the time I spent with the industrial sewing machines, the superb cutting table and the mannequin ... and the crazy opportunities to make exciting garments in the public eye. I rarely have opportunities like that, and I don’t have any of these luxury tools in my real life. I [love] to create and to experiment and I only wish I could live like that!

Anything else you want to add about your experience?

Maybe that I could really be an actress?! As a child, I always loved stories and films -- they served my imagination perfectly. My biggest wish in childhood was to be involved in making movies. But in China, people only wanted pretty girls to be actresses, with big eyes and small nose. And I have big nose and small eyes. Plus, as I grow, I am more moved by the reality [of life,] in which people get sick and die. Suddenly, movies seem to be quite light and artificial in comparison. Gradually, that childish wish became a forgotten dream.

Who would ever guess years later, I'm standing in front of camera, in a reality TV show, watched by nationwide audience on another side of the ocean!? Life is full of surprises. Now with the experience of "Project Runway," I can really proudly say: The best role I could ever imagine is really being myself!

Click Here: http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2010/01/project-runway-lifetime-season-7-ping-wu.html

Go on a home visit with "Project Runway" Season 7 Designer Ping Wu, in Chicago, IL, to get a sneak peek at where she lives and works. Check out Ping Wu's page for her portfolio and more of her videos!

Watch "Project Runway" Season 7 Designer Ping Wu's audition tape that she submitted to be on "Project Runway." The video was shot at her residence in Chicago, IL.