The White House/Handout The official portrait of Michelle Obama.In the official portrait of Michelle Obama released by the White House on Friday, the first lady wears a sleeveless black shift dress by the designer Michael Kors.
Mrs. Obama’s selection is notable for several reasons: First, it cements for posterity the sleeveless dress as her signature style, which, as many readers have pointed out, is a fantastic and flattering look for her, as is evident by the dresses she wore on recent covers of Vogue and People, as well as by the Narciso Rodriguez dress she wore to her husband’s first address to Congress on Tuesday.
Second, this is the first time Mrs. Obama has worn a dress by Mr. Kors, one of the most visible American designers working today thanks to his breakout role as a judge on “Project Runway.”
And third, it shows that Mrs. Obama is now wearing designer labels beyond those carried by the Chicago retailer Ikram Goldman. As described in an article that appeared in The Times on Feb. 12, Ms. Goldman has played an important behind-the-scene role in developing the first lady’s style. It also raised concerns about a conflict of interest because Mrs. Obama was wearing mostly those labels carried at Ms. Goldman’s store, such as Jason Wu, Isabel Toledo and Thakoon.
The dress Mrs. Obama wears in the portrait is a black version of a red gown in bonded crepe jersey that was shown in Mr. Kors’s spring 2009 runway show. The runway version retails for $3,195, but a spokesman for Mr. Kors would not discuss the price of the black dress made for Mrs. Obama.
Still, Ms. Goldman played a role in selecting the dress. She had approached Mr. Kors and asked for some items for Mrs. Obama, the spokesman said. He added, “we had no knowledge of where and when the pieces would be worn.”
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