Links to Obama campaign show fashion industry’s political clout is growing

The first lady’s campaign spokeswoman Olivia Alair said: “The first lady thinks that women should wear whatever makes them feel good and be comfortable. That’s how the first lady chooses her own clothes and based on no other considerations.”

Michelle Obama has been heralded by the industry for promoting fashion in a different way than her predecessors. Previous first ladies have worn American designers proudly, but most followed the couturier model of having a few chosen designers make their clothes. Jacqueline Kennedy famously wore Oleg Cassini, ruffling feathers with her preference for French labels. Nancy Reagan, faithful to American designers including James Galanos and Oscar de la Renta, waded into controversy and undermined her own efforts to branch out and embrace American fashion by borrowing clothing and jewelry from designers. Michelle Obama has learned from the missteps of first ladies past, seeking out up-and-comers and wearing more than 50 American designers in her husband’s first term. She has also mixed high-end labels with moderately priced pieces from stores such as J. Crew and Talbots.

More from PostPolitics

It's not just Republicans up in arms about Benghazi

Sean Sullivan

THE FIX | More than half of Americans say the Obama administration is trying to cover up the facts of the attack, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

IRS’s Lois Lerner to plead the Fifth

Aaron Blake

The IRS official who first disclosed the agency's improper targeting of conservative groups will invoke her right not to incriminate herself.

Has anyone been ‘fired’ because of the Benghazi attacks?

Glenn Kessler

FACT CHECKER | Sen. Rand Paul claims no one has been fired because of the Benghazi attacks. So what happened to those State Department officials who lost their jobs?

Coburn: Tornado aid must be offset

Rachel Weiner

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) will insist that any federal aid to deal with the tornado in his home state must be offset by budget cuts.

Read more

Those looking for patterns would be hard-pressed to find any. No single designer can claim a hold on her wardrobe, nor does giving to the campaign guarantee a coveted place in her closet. Some designers have become first-time donors this year after having their designs worn by the first lady. But other big givers are not staples of the Obama closet, and some who have gotten a big boost from the first lady haven’t given at all.

●Barbara Tfank, who designed Obama’s dress for a visit to Buckingham Palace in 2011, did not donate to the 2008 campaign but has since donated $5,000, the maximum for the 2012 cycle.

●High-dollar donor Tory Burch did not donate in 2008 but has since given the maximum $30,800 to the Democratic National Committee and the maximum $5,000 to the campaign. Burch’s blog shows Michelle Obama wearing a pair of her chain-trimmed boots, but Burch’s designs are not a staple of the first lady’s wardrobe.

●Jason Wu, who designed Obama’s inaugural gown and much of her subsequent wardrobe, has not donated to the campaign, although he is participating in the Runway to Win initiative.

●Reed Krakoff, the designer of the controversial $990 falcon blouse worn by Ann Romney, donated $3,000 to the 2008 Obama campaign.

Sometimes, Michelle Obama appears to choose designers simply because they’re present at events. The first lady wore Donna Karan publicly for the first time to a DNC fundraiser that the designer hosted in 2010.

Similarly, Obama wore a dress from donor Georgina Chapman’s Marchesa line to the British state dinner that Chapman and her husband, Harvey Weinstein, attended.

Simon Collins, dean of fashion at Parsons the New School for Design, says the industry support doesn’t stem from Michelle Obama’s patronage, but rather from the Obama administration’s eagerness to embrace fashion in ways previously not done.

Economic impact

“Clearly, both the administration, and by extension the first lady, made a decision that they would be public in their support for fashion — so, we’re in. We want to support them,” Collins said. “For those who say it’s just Michelle, frankly, it trivializes the attention the administration is paying to our industry.”