Is Vogue mogul Anna Wintour pressuring designers to stay away from coverage of Ann Romney? Fox News is reporting that there might be a concerted effort by Wintour to make sure that Ann Romney gets no coverage for her fashion choices. Wintour is known in the fashion world to have the ability to destroy any career she wants, and, if she declares that people will stay away from Romney, it is going to happen.
Since 2008, fashion designers trip over themselves to boast about Michelle Obama wearing one of their looks.
The Twitter account of Thom Browne buzzed after Monday’s debate with the following message:
“Honored to see First Lady Michelle Obama wearing our Spring 2013 dress at the final presidential debate.”
Ann Romney wore a teal gown from American fashion icon Oscar De la Renta, and their PR reps were dead silent. That is nothing new these days. Hayley Phelan of Fashionista.com pointed out that at the political conventions the fashion world analyzed every stitch of fabric Michelle Obama wore. Romney, who wore a Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress, was never even mentioned. In fact, when the DVF team was asked about it, their only answer was to question how she even got the dress.
This all comes back to Wintour. Wintour is one of President Obama’s biggest supporters these days. She has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for him and has convinced her fellow fashion heavyweights to produce pro-Obama clothes.
Noreen Malone of the New Republic wrote:
“Wintour’s connections and influence in Hollywood, fashion, and society aren’t merely pretty, shiny things to have around; they have become vital to the financial success of the campaign. She is in search of something more than a victory in November; she wants politics to take fashion seriously.”
And according to fashion industry pros, no one wants to risk annoying Wintour.
Some in the industry point out that Republicans may just be being paranoid. Entertainment and lifestyle commentator Valerie Greenberg said:
“It is just that Michelle brings such a unique, vibrant and youthful style and the average woman can see herself wearing many of her outfits, so designers want everyone to know that she is wearing their clothes, and even though Anna Wintour has a reputation for being tough, I don’t think she would let her political views dictate the designers she chooses to feature in the pages of Vogue.
“Unfortunately whoever came along in 2012 as a First Lady contender was going to have a tough fight winning in the fashion arena. It does not appear that Ann Romney is being snubbed by the fashion industry, but designers do seem to be employing a bit of caution in their approach of her. Perhaps it is due to the fact that we have yet to get a comprehensive glimpse into Mrs. Romney’s fashion personality, or that designers are skittish not about how she will appear in their clothes, but more importantly how she will style and accessorize them.”