In the beginning, many felt that Michelle Obama had no fashion sense at all but her perception has quickly changed:
MICHELLE OBAMA has become the mistress to American fashion. “The first lady the world’s been waiting for,” blazes the March cover of Vogue, where Mrs. Obama appears in a fuchsia dress by Jason Wu, the young talent she helped turn into an overnight star. No first lady since Jacqueline Kennedy has had a more instantaneous impact on fashion. Whatever Mrs. Obama wears, people notice and very often buy.
Despite the close study that people have made of Mrs. Obama’s style, it is not known that her wardrobe is being managed largely by a boutique owner in Chicago. Ikram Goldman, whose store is called Ikram, has played an unprecedented role since the election, serving as gatekeeper between the fashion industry and the first lady.
All details regarding the making of Mrs. Obama’s wardrobe for the inaugural were overseen by Ms. Goldman, who kept designers in the dark about whether their outfit would be chosen.
According to the designers involved, none of them had direct contact with the first lady - as designers have had in the past with first ladies. They worked from measurements and other information provided by Ms. Goldman and delivered the finished garments to Chicago or Washington.
“It was all very blind,” said Maria Cornejo, who made eight jewel-tone suits, two winter coats and three dresses for Mrs. Obama. (She wore a purple jacket on the inaugural weekend train ride.) Ms. Cornejo said she had a rough idea of what would fit the new first lady based on things Mrs. Obama had already worn from the designer’s line.
Designers are reluctant to discuss their dealings with Ms. Goldman - in part, some said, because they have not received guidance from the White House and in part because they don’t want to say something that might cause them to lose business. As for Ms. Goldman, she has remained virtually invisible and has not made herself available for interviews. (She declined to be interviewed for this article.) Mrs. Obama’s press secretary, Katie McCormick Lelyveld, characterized the first lady’s relationship with Ms. Goldman as that of a loyal client.
“Mrs. Obama has shopped at Ikram’s store for years and appreciates her shared interest in working with a broad spectrum of designers, including many young and up-and-coming designers,” Ms. McCormick Lelyveld said. She referred to the cover story about Mrs. Obama in the new Vogue, in which the first lady said, “First and foremost, I wear what I love.” Ms. McCormick Lelyveld did not respond to specific questions submitted by e-mail about whether the relationship had been formalized since the election and if Ms. Goldman was receiving additional compensation for her legwork.
According to a Vogue spokesman, Ms. Goldman and Mrs. Obama discussed what the first lady would wear in advance, but Ms. Goldman was not at the Vogue sitting.
Nonetheless, designers’ bills for Mrs. Obama’s clothes have been handled by Ms. Goldman, who, according to the designers Isabel Toledo and Mr. Wu, also first broached the subject of donating their garments to the Smithsonian Institution. Mr. Wu, who made the ivory chiffon inaugural gown, was not paid for that dress, he said, but he made it with the understanding that it would be donated if Mrs. Obama should end up wearing his design.
Ultimately four designers, including Narciso Rodriguez, had clothes chosen for different events. Each brand is also sold at Ikram, on North Rush Street in the Gold Coast neighborhood of Chicago. Although Maria Pinto, a Chicago-based designer with a long association with Mrs. Obama and her own boutique, made clothes for the inaugural, none were picked. Ms. Pinto declined to comment. Several designers from New York were asked by Ms. Goldman to submit sketches for review by Mrs. Obama.
Oscar de la Renta sent 12 sketches, but “never heard another word” from Ms. Goldman or Mrs. Obama’s office, he said. A spokeswoman for Carolina Herrera said sketches were sent. While nothing was ordered by Mrs. Obama, a gown was made for Desirée Rogers, the new White House social secretary, and purchased through Ikram.
Many other prominent American designers, including Michael Kors, Ralph Rucci, Vera Wang and Francisco Costa at Calvin Klein, were never approached, they said.
To the older generation of design stars, the idea that a first lady would rely so heavily on a retailer - rather than on designers or an independent stylist, people who make their living solving problems of fit and proportion - is surprising. To some in fashion, there is also a question of a possible conflict of interest on Ms. Goldman’s part, because she sells clothes by the designers that Mrs. Obama has worn and stands to benefit from their exposure.
“It is strange to think that the wife of the leader of the free world would choose clothes from only one store, when there is a wealth of clothes out there from other designers, including me,” Arnold Scaasi said.
Mr. Scaasi, who has dressed first ladies since Mamie Eisenhower, though is perhaps best known for the blue velvet and silk inaugural gown of Barbara Bush, said he could not recall a time when designers did not have direct access to the White House. He was critical of Mr. Wu’s design for Mrs. Obama, because of its loose fit. “I don’t think the inaugural gown was flattering in any way,” he said. “She could have looked much better.”
Mrs. Obama’s predecessors typically went directly to Seventh Avenue for their clothes, bypassing stores, editors, stylists and others who might have an agenda of their own. To be sure, many designers have benefited from their trade with a first lady - few more so than Oleg Cassini, who dressed Mrs. Kennedy and for years afterward exploited that connection. Mrs. Kennedy also bought Paris copies from Chez Ninon, a boutique in New York.
