Art
Michelle Obama invites fashion students to learn from industry pros
Michelle Obama gives promising fashion students the opportunity to learn the do’s and don’ts from the fashion industry’s best which included Vogue’s Anna Wintour, Narciso Rodriguez, Sara Blakely of Spanx, Zac Posen, Eva Chen of Lucky and Diane von Furstenberg.
In an overt acknowledgment of the growing value and profile of the fashion industry, Michelle Obama went where no first lady had gone before Wednesday and hosted a Fashion Education Workshop at the White House geared toward introducing the next generation of designers and industrialists to the delicate art of style.
It follows a similar event held last November with the film community, and is part of her Reach Higher initiative.
A group of 150 students from 12 high schools and two colleges from five states and Washington D.C., were invited to spend the day attending five seminars, where they would hear from assorted professionals, including Narciso Rodriguez, Sara Blakely of Spanx, Zac Posen, Eva Chen of Lucky and Diane von Furstenberg, about different aspects of the business, including construction, wearable technology, entrepreneurship and journalism. There is a Celebration of Design cocktail party at the White House to follow the workshops. While Mrs. Obama has always been more deeply involved in, and beloved of, the fashion world than many of her predecessors, both for her personal sense of style and her willingness to use her role to promote numerous lesser-known names, boosting them onto the retail and consumer stage, the education event takes this to a new level, embracing the importance of fashion as an industry for the future.
“The idea is to work with young students who are interested in the world of fashion,” Reed Krakoff emailed on his way to the airport. “The subject I will be talking about is inspiration, and the role it plays in the business.” He didn’t want to say anything more except that he was excited. Other designers contacted declined to comment.
Mrs. Obama has worn Mr. Krakoff on numerous occasions, including for her second official White House portrait.
Indeed, many of the designers who are speaking have dressed the first lady in the past, including Jason Wu, Prabal Gurung, Duro Olowu, Tracy Reese, Thom Browne, Mr. Rodriguez, Ms. von Furstenberg, Duro Olowu, Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig of Marchesa, Maria Cornejo and Naeem Khan. They represent a broad cross-section of backgrounds (Asian-American, African-American, Indian-American, Nigerian-British, Chilean and British) and various size businesses. (By contrast, the journalism section includes only magazine editors and stylists, though there are representatives from both American and Latina publications; when queried on this, a representative from the first lady’s office said it was not purposeful.)
Addressing the students, after being introduced by the Vogue editor Anna Wintour, Mrs. Obama said: “So fashion is a lot more than just a pretty pair of heels or a nice hemline. It’s a passion and a career and a livelihood for so many people across the country.”
It’s also a major industry. According to MarketLine, the United States Apparel market had total revenue of $371.2 billion in 2013. That’s a lot of implied taxes and salaries.
"In these dresses…we see the incredible promise that lies within our next generation." —The First Lady at the #FashionEdu Workshop
— The First Lady (@FLOTUS) October 8, 2014
The best draping session @WhiteHouse with incredible students. Thank you for the opportunity @FLOTUS #fashionedu pic.twitter.com/MJz6avggtm
— Zac Posen (@Zac_Posen) October 8, 2014
Michelle Obama at WH fashion event says student designed navy dress she's wearing, does a twirl to show it off. pic.twitter.com/W9Ni154eGM
— Judy Kurtz (@JudyKurtz) October 8, 2014
"We *all* wear them. With pride." -Michelle @FLOTUS Obama just shouted out @SPANX's Sara Blakely as a fashion entrepreneur success story.
— Eva Chen (@evachen212) October 8, 2014
Inspiration Board from #FashionEdu whitehouse @flotus reachhigher2020 xoxo @thombrowneny @duroolowu… http://t.co/ezqBahzknY
— Edward Enninful (@Edward_Enninful) October 8, 2014
"A solid education and the willingness to work hard are really at the core of what it's really going to take to reach your goals." —FLOTUS
— The First Lady (@FLOTUS) October 8, 2014
And, thanks to its global nature and role in pop culture, fashion is increasingly seen as a useful symbol for national creativity, be it in Britain, where the first lady, Samantha Cameron, is an ambassador for the British Fashion Council, or in Colombia, where the first lady, María Clemencia Rodríguez de Santos, attended the 25th anniversary celebration of inexmoda, the national textile show last year. The workshop day was the second major fashion event to take place at the White House in the last 10 days — on Oct. 1, Mrs Obama held a lunch in honor of Cooper Hewitt’s National Design Awards winners, including their fashion design winner, Mr. Rodriguez (whose dress she wore). And it follows her cutting the ribbon on the Anna Wintour Costume Center at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in May.
Source: New York Times
