The Art of Fashion

Michelle Obama v Diane von Furstenberg in Dressgate, The Final Chapter
During the state visit by the Chinese President to the US, I posted on the stunning dinner dress by Alexander McQueen that Michelle Obama wore. I alluded to the disgruntled mutters that it was a dress by a British designer. But subsequently these mutters rose to a roar of disapproval. Culminating in a statement issued by Council of Fashion Designers of America president Diane Von Furstenberg, who said:
"CFDA believes in promoting American fashion,” the statement read. “Our First Lady Michelle Obama has been wonderful at promoting our designers, so we were surprised and a little disappointed not to be represented for this major state dinner.”
Oh dear. I am going to first of all excuse one of my design heroes DvF as she recently suffered a terrible skiing incident which left her face shmooshed and bloodied and she is at home recovering at the moment. But that kind of accident is going to make you crabby, right? I mean, of course we all want to support our local industry, but you don't hear that kind of outcry when Mrs O wears an African design. Thankfully. Because we love it that she supports fashion democratically. 
Supporting local is important, and she does that in spades. So if one dress out of every ten happens to be designed internationally, who gets hurt? And she looked totally awesome.
But trust our lady of first, Michelle Obama, to silence the argument once and for all yesterday, when she responded to questions with all the pragmatism of a real woman and all the incisive insight of a leader, when she said,
"Look, women, wear what you love. That's all I can say. That's my motto. I wear what I like because...I gotta be in the dress, so..."
Enough said.
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