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Michelle Obama: America's next fashion icon
Issue date: 11/20/08
Now, it's very interesting in the world of fashion to see a French woman being tentatively labeled as a predecessor to an American woman, but I definitely disagree. Bruni-Sarkozy is beautiful, and that is what she will be remembered for: her face, not her clothes. She dresses well, but nothing that I find worthy of history. The purple Dior dress suit was of note, but the shape of it was Jackie-inspired and it has been more noticed as Dior, not as something that Bruni-Sarkozy wore.
Obama will probably not be the next Jackie O. either. She has been applauded for wearing Thakoon and has brought the Chicago-based designer Maria Pinto into the fashion spotlight. I love that she wears flats. I love that she is showing hometown pride with Pinto. She has her own style. She certainly wears the traditional pearls of the President's wife, but she also wears bright colors and pieces with interesting tailoring, like flared sleeves on a black jacket.
Jackie O.'s icon status is safe, but Michelle O. will be significant too, and Vogue knows it. Times are hard, even for the fashion world (Harper's Bazaar featured two Banana Republic pieces in their December issue). Anna Wintour and her team at Vogue need to think about selling magazines, and popular actresses like Blake Lively will get the job done.
Michelle Obama is a popular figure who will sell magazines, but she is also fashionably relevant. There are a lot of important and exciting American designers that support her: Jacobs, Posen, Ralph Lauren, Carolina Herrera, the team behind Proenza Schouler and the sisters that make up Rodarte, for a short list.
There hasn't been one woman who wholly represents a fashionable American in years. Michelle Obama is shaping up to be such a woman.
The excitement and fervor that Barack Obama's run and subsequent win created in the country as a whole has already inspired American designers, and hopefully will continue to do so, honing collections of clothing that continue to bring American fashion in new and exciting directions, adding to the Americana fashion canon.
Obama will probably not be the next Jackie O. either. She has been applauded for wearing Thakoon and has brought the Chicago-based designer Maria Pinto into the fashion spotlight. I love that she wears flats. I love that she is showing hometown pride with Pinto. She has her own style. She certainly wears the traditional pearls of the President's wife, but she also wears bright colors and pieces with interesting tailoring, like flared sleeves on a black jacket.
Jackie O.'s icon status is safe, but Michelle O. will be significant too, and Vogue knows it. Times are hard, even for the fashion world (Harper's Bazaar featured two Banana Republic pieces in their December issue). Anna Wintour and her team at Vogue need to think about selling magazines, and popular actresses like Blake Lively will get the job done.
Michelle Obama is a popular figure who will sell magazines, but she is also fashionably relevant. There are a lot of important and exciting American designers that support her: Jacobs, Posen, Ralph Lauren, Carolina Herrera, the team behind Proenza Schouler and the sisters that make up Rodarte, for a short list.
There hasn't been one woman who wholly represents a fashionable American in years. Michelle Obama is shaping up to be such a woman.
The excitement and fervor that Barack Obama's run and subsequent win created in the country as a whole has already inspired American designers, and hopefully will continue to do so, honing collections of clothing that continue to bring American fashion in new and exciting directions, adding to the Americana fashion canon.
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Michelle
posted 12/04/08 @ 11:18 PM EST
Dear Editor,
May I have use of RSS feed to the article Michelle Obama:America's Next Fashion Icon, authored by an Armonk Byram Hills alumni. It would complement our current silver screen feature, Madlyn Dunham and Barak Obama, An American Dream. (Continued…)
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