She’s not even the First Lady yet, and already Michelle Obama’s wardrobe has been under more scrutiny than Hilary Clinton’s pantsuits – thought not quite as bashed as a certain VP candidate’s $150,000 wardrobe. Fashionistas have already picked apart the red and black dress Michelle wore on election night – and now Project Runway contestants from past seasons are being challenged by The Daily Beast to design a dress for the First Lady in waiting – using some bizarre materials.
With the race finally decided, and the Obamas packing for Washington, there’s just one pressing question left on the national agenda: What should Michelle wear to the Inaugural Ball? Throughout the rigorous campaign, Michelle demonstrated a remarkable poise. Whether facing questions from craggy Larry King or the squawking of The View, it seemed she could utter no false word, no awkward statement. Let’s hope the same goes for her wardrobe.
To help dream up the answer for America’s new fashion-forward first lady, we enlisted some of our favorite Project Runway designers to create Inaugural Ball gowns at once stylish, thrifty, and patriotic. But in keeping with the show’s premise, they didn’t get to skip off to Mood to buy their fabric. For this challenge, they were only allowed to use Laura Bush’s 2005 Inaugural Ball dress, to be chopped up and repurposed, à la Pretty in Pink; an American flag; burlap potato sacks; and $10 worth of trims of their choice.
Yikes! I’d probably get voted off if that’s what I had to work with, but the designers definitely rose to the challenge. Competitors included season one winner Jay McCarroll, season one finalist Austin Scarlett, season three finalist Mychael Knight, and one of my favorites, season four’s drag queen extraordinaire Chris March, as well as last season winner Leeann Marshall. The designs were judged by Simon Doonan, creative director of Barneys department stores and a frequent talking head on shows like VH1’s “I Love the 80s.” Here’s a a gallery of the designs some of them lovely, some of them downright kooky.
She looks & what she wears is Great!!
Leann Marshall’s design is the best, love the style. When the First Lady and the President are dancing, her dress will flow perfectly and look magical. 🙂
it was a strange choice for such a historical moment . . . it looked 3-d and almost like she was pregnant!
She’s really statuesque so should go with something really simple and fitted. I kind of like the Mychael Knight one but without the split up the side. And she looks amazing in that 2nd pic.
I really didn’t like her election night dress, because it was like an optical illusion or something, and made her hips look really wide. But in general, I really like her style. And I think it’s so cool that’s she tall (5’11”, I think?) and still wears heels.
isn’t cutting up the american flag for something like this against the law…?
Nope. Protected under the First Amendment.
That’s not to say some people won’t find it offensive – it’s just not illegal.
Interestingly enough, in the 1960’s people started draping the flag around themselves, and later wore its image in protest of the Vietnam War (hence the stars and stripes on everything from t-shirts, to biker jackets, to bikinis from that era).
Now, its image is branded on countless of patriotic, oftentimes pro-war apparel. From the hippies, to the rednecks – isn’t irony grand?
danielle you are too funny!
obama is such a good looking guy and she sort of has a scary face… she really lucked out… but then again, she seems like a woman of strong will and character, which is probably what attracted her to him in the first place… smart decision, character lasts much longer than looks…
It is a very strange dress. If the red dots had continued throughout the middle of the dress it might have worked better, with the black outer sides working to slenderize her (not that she’s all that heavy).
Are they totally surrounded by “Yes” people? Apparently so.
Pretty lady. She’ll rock those White House dinners and set her own style. His little girls are cuties too. It’s nice to have a normal family in the White House.
actually…according to http://www.usflag.org/uscode36.html
(d) The flag should never be used as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery.
If you can burn the flag, you can wear it. I mean for God’s sake you would have to jail every country star on the planet if that was the case. Regarding the dresses from runway–the only one that had any legitimacy was Leann’s. It’s the inaguration not a 4th of July drag contest. And that Narcisco Rodriguez dress she wore on election night was a major misstep. But I would rather see her take the risk than wear a stepford wife Laura Bush suit!
Looks like Daisy and I are in agreement here! Korto would be a good choice too, but second to LeeAnne. I did not like the dress choice of our First Lady elect on Nov. 2. It looked like a LBD with Cheeto dust down the front.
whoa i wish i had that project runaway (we only have re-runs on slice canada) as i would really like to see the process of them making the inauguration gown and which one it will be! that’s going to be a good season.
Wow some of those designers CANNOT draw
I don’t mind the dress, it’s got a very interesting texture – I’m just assuming that it looks better in person than in a photo.
As for the designs – what were some of them thinking. Even 4th of July drag queens would probably think “bitch… please”. The first one is pretty, but I personally think that bare shoulders is inappropriate for an inauguration.
My favourite is the Rami Kashou one (blue, one-shouldered with dramatic drapery), it’s elegant and tasteful enough for such an occasion, but still has a few interesting twists. Leann’s design is nice – with a fantastic collar – but not completely out of potato sacks.
EDIT: Jeebus… they’re not actually going to make these horrors are they? Although the last one by Jay McCarroll I really like, just not for the inauguration.
Great challenge for the designers!
How tight are Luke Davis’ f-ing pants. What a queer?? Orange County is gaaaaaayyyy!!!!!