Michelle at a Barbara Walters show in a rosette-trimmed sheath from Jason Wu.
Amnau Eele plans to "file a formal appeal" with Michelle Obama’s office about the lack of a black designer. "It’s fine and good if you want to be all ‘Kumbaya’ and ‘We are the World’ by representing all different countries," Eele said. "But if you are going to have Isabel Toledo do the inauguration dress, and Jason Wu do the evening gown, why not have Kevan Hall, B Michael, Stephen Burrows or any of the other black designers do something, too?"
Jason Wu
Jason Wu, 26-year-old is a Taipeh, Taiwan-born designer. Wu is an unknown designer who launched his line in 2006. Wu designed Michelle Obama’s inauguration ball gown, made of a creamy white chiffon with one-shoulder covered in fluffy appliqués and beading. The dress will soon be heading to the Smithsonian Museum in Washington for their First Lady fashions collections.
Overnight, Wu has become one of the hottest names in fashion. He has already booked his venue for his autumn/winter ‘09/10 show during February’s New York Fashion Week. Wu’s website, jasonwustudio.com received more than 4 million hits on the day of the inauguration. 
Michelle Obama’s inauguration ball gown by Jason Wu
Wu credits his parents for his success. “They organized my immigration to Vancouver when I was nine, because they knew I would get a better education.” He later moved to a boarding school in Connecticut, did a couple of summer’s sculpture studies in Tokyo and has lived in Paris, which has obviously is infused in his designs.
Wu’s designs are sold by Bergdorf Goodman, Ikram (where Michelle Obama ordered her black and white interview dress last fall), Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, and Saks.
The first lady is no stranger to Wu. Ikram Goldman, owner of the influential Ikram boutique in Chicago, wanted to buy look number 17 for a “special” customer, Mr. Wu said. Her measurements would be sent over promptly, the dress had to be done and delivered as soon as possible and the designer was instructed not to tell anyone about the order, he said. “I had an inkling who it was for, but I didn’t want to think about it,” said
Then one day while watching ABC’s “The Barbara Walters Special” Michelle Obama appeared wearing the $3,510 raw silk dress he made with hand-embroidered rosettes. “It was a little surreal,” said Mr. Wu, whose line will be sold at influential retailers like Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus for the first time in spring.“
Mr. Wu, who sells $3,000 to $6,000 evening gowns and day dresses that retail for $1,000 to $4,000, says the piece Mrs. Obama wore took a few weeks to finish and was delivered to Ikram by the end of September. “Each of those little black dots are hand-embroidered florets with French knots,” he says, noting that the embroidery took 100 hours of labor in a New York studio. (He notes that the dress, which will be sold at Ikram and Bergdorf Goodman in January, was not a gift; Mrs. Obama paid for it.)
Isabel Toledo
Pale yellow wool lace by Isabel Toledo
The new first lady kicked off the Inauguration Day with donning a pale yellow wool lace Isabel Toledo shift with matching overcoat. Matched with green pumps, and a diamond brooch. “The outfit was made for Michelle with extra warm linings sewn into the interlinings. So that she wouldn’t freeze,” designer Toledo announced.
The first lady is no stranger to Toledo. Toledo previously made the dress Ms. Obama wore at a June 2008 Vogue event. Toledo didn’t design the dress specifically for Michelle Obama, nor did she sell it directly to her. Obama bought it at Ikram, a Chicago store that sells Toledo’s clothes. Toledo said in October that she had been contacted by the Obama reps.
Michelle Obama wore Isabel Toledo in June 2008 Vogue event.
It appears that Eele, the Black Artists Association or other critics are not aware that Mrs. Obama is not a stranger to designs by Jason Wu and Isabel Toledo. She have worn their clothes before. There is a common denominator between Mrs. Obama and the designers. That common denominator is definitely not “the color of their skins” but rather the content of their designs and their aggressive marketing and products placement strategies – Ikram, a Chicago fashion store.
Sound Off
Should Amnau Eele go to hell for planning to "file a formal appeal" with Michelle Obama’s office for her not selecting an African American designer or does she have a legitimate claim?
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What’s really sad is that the webmaster of this blog would post and comment on a story that has not been fact checked by anyone on this blog’s staff.
Black Artists Association will present a Fashion Forum in Washington D.C. about the WWD article that has caused such a media firestorm.
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