Isabel Toledo, designer behind Michelle Obama's 2009 inaugural outfit, dies at 59

Fashion designer Isabel Toledo, the creator of former first lady Michelle Obama's 2009 inaugural parade outfit, died Monday in Manhattan. She was 59.

Her husband, artist Ruben Toledo, said she died of breast cancer. Toledo was known for focusing on the construction of her garments; she said she engineered her clothes. She started sewing at age 8, the same time her family moved to the United States from Cuba, and she launched her own line in 1984 after interning for Diana Vreeland at the Costume Institution of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Toledo was later creative director for Anne Klein from 2006 to 2007 and collaborated with Lane Bryant. She received many accolades, including a National Design Award from the Cooper Hewitt museum in 2005 and a Tony nomination in 2014 for her costume work on After Midnight.

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The spotlight shone brightest on Toledo in 2009, when Obama wore her design to walk in the inaugural parade. In an email to The New York Times, Obama said she requested "something that would not only live up to the moment, but would also stand up to the freezing cold of that January day. With her incredible creativity and masterful talent, Isabel designed a beautiful lemongrass outfit that I just loved. She more than met the moment — for that day and for all of history."