MILAN — Designer Jason Wu loves hotel living, so it’s no surprise he’s embarked on a hospitality project infused with his own flair.

On Thursday, the Canadian, Taiwan-born designer told WWD that he partnered with The Residences at Mandarin Oriental, Miami to design bespoke uniforms for the property’s sales pavilion, a curated location on the southern tip of the city’s Brickell Key, the future site of The Residences. The 7,000-square-foot space contains a gallery and showcases the model residences. The entire development, is being built by Miami-based firm, Swire Properties and is expected to be completed by 2030.

The collaboration reimagines the work uniform. Living in the ambience of an upscale hotel makes one feel like “they are always on a little vacation,” Wu said, reminiscing about his childhood memories of staying in hotels. “The Mandarin Oriental is one of my favorite hotels to stay at. And the residences, they are really beautiful and it feels like part of the new Miami that has been built over the last decade.”

Known for his precision tailoring, modern elegance and designs for Hollywood A-list and former U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama, Wu fused this same spirit into Mandarin Oriental’s standard for elevated refinement.

“Whenever I think about the world of Jason Wu and my client and where she is, she’s never really in a white box. She’s traveling, she’s going places. So my partnerships are very dependent on if it fits into the world in which I see myself,” he said.

Wu explained that he envisaged and tailored uniforms to the pavillion’s staff members, ranging from the porters to the bartenders — in addition to the sales associates. The women’s guest experience uniform, for example, is a three-quarter-sleeved pleated dress with a waist tie detail and wax seal button closure. The men’s guest experience uniforms involve a collarless blazer with straight-leg trousers. He also designed the bartender’s uniforms of which the women’s version is a collared button-down shirt with contrast sleep tab detailing and straight-leg trousers.

The partnership underscores the positioning of The Residences as one of Miami’s most anticipated luxury developments in the U.S.

Overall, the project includes two towers: the South Tower, with 228 residences and interiors by Parisian designer Tristan Auer, and the North Tower, home to Mandarin Oriental’s new North American flagship hotel, alongside 70 private residences designed by Laura Gonzalez, the Parisian interior designer behind La Pérouse, the Cartier mansion and Printemps New York.

The collaboration also highlights the fashion and luxury’s growing interest in taking a bite of the high-end and branded real estate market, of which Miami has become a major hub. Brands such as Armani, Italian private club operator Cipriani and carmaker Aston Martin have all stampeded into Miami’s residential scene.

A recent report by market research firm Intel Market said the global luxury real estate market was valued at $903.2 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $1.3 trillion by 2032, registering a compound annual growth rate of 4.5 percent over the forecast period 2024-32. Earlier this year, hospitality.net said that branded residences market has grown a staggering 176 percent in the last decade. Almost 690 projects are in operation and 617 more are set to launch by 2030.

“I’m definitely open to more projects like this,” Wu said.

It’s not the first time Wu has ventured outside the realm of fashion. Since 2020, he has collaborated with Taiwan’s EVA Air for a range of in-flight pajamas for first-class passengers.

“That’s something that I found to be really great for brand building because that clientele is the sort of clientele I am looking for for my clothes. These amenities are more desirable and long-lasting,” he pointed out, adding that he personally knows people who have continued to wear theirs for years.