The fashion industry vs. Michelle Obama

Some in the American fashionistas think the First Lady should wear more homegrown designers, but she says she wants to focus more on her causes and less on her clothes

Michelle Obama wore a British-designed Alexander McQueen dress to a state dinner last month, to the dismay of American designers.
(Image credit: Getty)

Last month, Michelle Obama incensed the American fashion industry by wearing a dress by British designer Alexander McQueen to the China state dinner. Designer Oscar de la Renta questioned the decision, given that the visit was meant to promote American-Chinese trade. The First Lady responded to the criticism on ABC's "Good Morning America" saying her motto was "wear what you love" and adding that she needs to devote her attention to her core issues such as health and military families, not the fashion industry. That only further incensed fashionistas, and this week Obama again addressed the issue at a White House lunch, saying "I like to patronize American designers," but, in the end, "clothes are just the thing that you wear to do the stuff you need to do." Is that view too short-sighted for a first lady? (See Michelle Obama's "Today" interview)

What she wears really does matter: The First Lady and the fashions she chooses "can make a world of difference in people's lives," says designer Nanette Lepore in The Huffington Post. She has put young American designers like Jason Wu "on the map" by wearing their clothes, and, by promoting American clothes on "the international stage," she can help a struggling "industry that is in danger of leaving our shores permanently." I wish she'd realize that she "can support her causes and simultaneously support a valuable American industry and the thousands of people it employs."

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