Michelle Obama’s fashion passion
NEW YORK — The morning after Michelle Obama’s big speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2012, in which she argued passionately for a second term for her husband, designer Tracy Reese’s phone was ringing.
Obama’s powerful speech had attracted much attention — but these phone calls were about her dress. A shimmering sleeveless sheath in rose and silvery grey, it was pretty universally considered a fashion slam dunk. And customers wanted it.
There was only one problem, Reese recalls: “We didn’t have inventory — we had made that dress custom.” And so the label went into production. Reese estimates she sold more than 2,000.
Reese, from Detroit, is one of the first lady’s favoured designers — Obama has been photographed in her clothes 20 to 30 times. But unlike some past first ladies who favoured one or two big-name designers, Obama has often promoted lesser-known names, and taken care to promote American designers.
Which is why so many designers and fashion watchers will miss her, perhaps even more so than Jacqueline Kennedy, because of her broad appeal.
“Michelle Obama embraced everyone,” says Andre Leon Talley, a fashion editor at Vogue magazine. “She embraced black designers, Asian designers, European designers.”
And that includes wearing fashion that ordinary women could potentially afford — like cardigans from J. Crew.
“She’s made an effort to wear accessible fashion,” Reese says. “Jackie (Kennedy) was a great role model but she wore a lot of things that most Americans could not afford.” Obama has worn both highend and moderately priced fashion.
Reese, who is African-American, is particularly proud that one of her designs — a black dress printed with bright red flowers — is on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Obama wore it to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington.
Obama set the stage for her broad-based fashion choices with her first inauguration. Previous first ladies had gone with established luxury designers like Oscar de la Renta. Obama wore a two-piece lemon grass-hued ensemble by Cuban-American designer Isabel Toledo for day, and a one-shouldered white gown by New Yorkbased, Taiwanese-Canadian designer Jason Wu at night.
For her husband’s second inauguration, she wore a sleek coat and dress by American designer Thom Browne, known for his eclectic talents, and in the evening Jason Wu again.