Profile
Architectural shapes, strong silhouettes and unique details make up Jamie Wu Qian Qian’s distinct personal style
The details that define Jamie Wu Qian Qian’s personal style
Jamie wu qian qian is a woman who knows exactly what looks good on her. When we met the style maven, she had just returned from her first successful outing at the London, Milan and Paris fashion weeks in September, where her visually striking looks caught the eye of street-style photographers as well as international publications. Describing her style as eclectic, Jamie dresses with editorial flair and, thanks to her expert mixing and matching of streetwear with luxury fashion, the Shanghainese always looks like she had just stepped out of the pages of a fashion magazine. No surprises here, considering one of her earliest sources of inspiration was her mother’s fashion periodicals—a rarity in 1990s China. “China was not the most open of societies back then, and to have foreign magazines and being able to read them was very rare,” she says. “My mother took such an interest in fashion and started to experiment by making clothes for me. This definitely piqued my interest.” The 34-year-old worked as a TV producer and stylist in Shanghai, before relocating to Singapore with her husband in 2016. After moving here, she took to fashion blogging, initially for fun but now as a career. Her impressive Instagram account, @jamieqqwu, which boasts nearly 50,000 followers, features a carefully curated fashion collection, from Y/project’s controversial slouchy boots to this season’s must-have nylon Prada belt bag. Unique details are crucial to her style, and you will be nonplussed to find classic elements in her wardrobe, save for the clean white turtlenecks and basic tees she layers with her more striking pieces. Jamie’s style has also been inspired by her love for architecture, whether it is her experience running the now-defunct Hamilton House restaurant, which was housed in an art deco-style building in Shanghai, or the works of her favourite designers Glenn Martens of Y/project and Virgil Abloh, founder and designer of Off-white and artistic director of Louis Vuitton menswear. Before fashion, both designers were architects, and they subscribe to the ethos of fashion being more than just clothes, but rather a concept. This is also something that Jamie shares. “I’ve always been drawn to pieces with architectural design,” she explains. “With my body type being on the thin side, I feel these pieces help to create a more interesting shape.”