Appearance it was Michelle Obama's idea, of course. Judging by her longtime stylist Meredith Koop, the stunning new book about the former first lady's style in the White House wouldn't have happened any other way.
“It’s been on the air for a while,” Coop tells me over the phone about the idea for AppearanceWhat available now through Penguin Random House. “And obviously, being a fashionable person, I was part of it.”
During the eight years of his stay in White HouseObama avoided talking about her style so that her clothes would not “distract” from the many initiatives she championed during her time as first lady. However, this silence did not stop the fashion media from devouring every image. And through it all, Coop remained her secret weapon. She worked with Obama from the earliest days of her husband's presidency, when Koop says there was a “hyperfixation” on the first lady's presentation, and continued to help shape her style during her post-White House career as a speaker, author, producer and, yes, fashion icon.
“Being first lady is a very, very rare position,” Koop says. “There are very few of them, and it’s very interesting to look inside this world. Appearance is a historical document.”
Courtesy of Penguin Random House
Elena Mudd
Koop said her role in the first lady's office was unique. “There is one position that the first lady can fill with a person of her choosing. It could be child care, gardening, or some kind of assistant they want to take with them. It could be anyone. And that person was me.”
Thus, Coop was something of a one-woman show (not counting tailor Christy Rilling, who came from New York for a fitting with the First Lady). Coop was responsible for doing the research, ordering the clothes, presenting her vision to Obama, and then creating the final look with all the necessary modifications and preparation. One of the most important and most unpredictable aspects of the job was what she calls risk assessment. And no, this doesn't mean there's a chance of a wardrobe malfunction.
The First Lady's stylist is responsible for thinking through all possible scenarios, from weather changes to an unforeseen national tragedy. “If you were planning on wearing something bright and fun, you might make a different choice because of the political climate or the tone of current events,” she says. “That's all there was to consider.”
