“She could potentially do what Jackie Kennedy did, bring about a new awareness and a fresh outlook, just by not being so intentionally ‘first lady,’ by mixing designer things with off the rack,” Ms. Sui said. “She can give a big boost to the American fashion industry — and we need all the help we can get.”…

“The way Michelle Obama dresses is not her stimulus package to the fashion industry,” said Mr. Kolb of the designers’ council. “It’s how she is. I think about my sister who lives in New Jersey and is a teacher, and about the women she works with, and how they can look at Michelle Obama and not have to pretend to be that woman, that working mother with kids who knows the big designer names but also shops at J. Crew and the Gap. She’s who they are.”