First lady Michelle Obama is a Princeton and Harvard University-educated lawyer, star campaigner for her husband, a source of inspiration for millions, and the mother of two young girls.
She also manages to appear regularly on the list of the world's best-dressed people in such magazines as People, Vanity Fair and Vogue.
But until last month, the true extent of her influence on the world of fashion wasn't appreciated in a quantified manner. To be precise, during 189 public appearances in the year between November 2008 and December 2009, Ms Obama caused a cumulative upside of $2.7 billion to the stocks of fashion brands and retailers preferred by her.
Prof David Yermack of New York University's Stern School of Business calculated that Mrs Obama wore clothes and accessories made by 29 publicly traded companies during those occasions and the upside to these stocks, such as J.Crew, GAP, Dillard's and DSW averaged at $14 million per appearance. That's more than any model or superstar would have ever managed.
"The first lady's influence may be tied to the fact that consumers know she's not paid to wear what she does, whereas they may subconsciously discount models' endorsements as inherently corrupt," Mr Yermack wrote in an October issue of the Harvard Business Review that published his findings in an article titled The Michelle Obama Effect.
While the brands chosen by the first lady collectively gained 2.3% in value during the period, a competitive sample of the brands that were not patronised by her, lost 0.4% in value during the period.
France's first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy is also a formidable fashion icon, but she doesn't have the same kind of influence on stocks. This, according to Yermack, is because Bruni-Sarkozy mostly wears the couture brand Dior, which is out of reach for most people. Ms Obama mixes expensive brands with affordable brands.
The presidential touch has not always proved magical for brands chosen by the Obamas. Designers Maria Pinto and Kai Milla (who is married to the singer Stevie Wonder), who have both enjoyed the patronage of Ms O, have shut shop. To his inauguration, President Obama wore a suit tailored by the 137-year old Chicago brand Hart Schaffner Marx. Three days later, the brand's parent company filed for bankruptcy.
Mrs Obama wore a dress made by Indian-American designer Naeem Khan to the state dinner for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in November 2009. In February this year, he told The Wall Street Journal that since Michelle Obama's appearance in his dress, his clothes have been flying off the shelves. "It's the gift that doesn't stop giving," he said.
Cooler than president
Ms Obama won't be the only uber-cool person in Obama's entourage. The president's personal aide Reggie Love, who accompanies the president wherever he goes, is in a coolness league of his own. A former member of the Duke university basketball team that won the NCAA championship in 2001, the 29-year old Love is known to have introduced the President to rap artists Jay Z and Lil Wayne, among others. Obama used to listen to his music on a silver iPod nano that Love gifted him for his 46th birthday.
"There's no doubt that Reggie is cooler than I am," Obama told NYT during presidential campaign, adding, "I am living vicariously through Reggie". Love topped a 'White House's Hottest' survey by the Huffington Post, beating Obama's speechwriter Jon Favreau, also 29 years old, and the secondyoungest presidential speechwriter in history. Obama has called Favreau his "mind reader".
She also manages to appear regularly on the list of the world's best-dressed people in such magazines as People, Vanity Fair and Vogue.
But until last month, the true extent of her influence on the world of fashion wasn't appreciated in a quantified manner. To be precise, during 189 public appearances in the year between November 2008 and December 2009, Ms Obama caused a cumulative upside of $2.7 billion to the stocks of fashion brands and retailers preferred by her.
Prof David Yermack of New York University's Stern School of Business calculated that Mrs Obama wore clothes and accessories made by 29 publicly traded companies during those occasions and the upside to these stocks, such as J.Crew, GAP, Dillard's and DSW averaged at $14 million per appearance. That's more than any model or superstar would have ever managed.
"The first lady's influence may be tied to the fact that consumers know she's not paid to wear what she does, whereas they may subconsciously discount models' endorsements as inherently corrupt," Mr Yermack wrote in an October issue of the Harvard Business Review that published his findings in an article titled The Michelle Obama Effect.
While the brands chosen by the first lady collectively gained 2.3% in value during the period, a competitive sample of the brands that were not patronised by her, lost 0.4% in value during the period.
France's first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy is also a formidable fashion icon, but she doesn't have the same kind of influence on stocks. This, according to Yermack, is because Bruni-Sarkozy mostly wears the couture brand Dior, which is out of reach for most people. Ms Obama mixes expensive brands with affordable brands.
The presidential touch has not always proved magical for brands chosen by the Obamas. Designers Maria Pinto and Kai Milla (who is married to the singer Stevie Wonder), who have both enjoyed the patronage of Ms O, have shut shop. To his inauguration, President Obama wore a suit tailored by the 137-year old Chicago brand Hart Schaffner Marx. Three days later, the brand's parent company filed for bankruptcy.
Mrs Obama wore a dress made by Indian-American designer Naeem Khan to the state dinner for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in November 2009. In February this year, he told The Wall Street Journal that since Michelle Obama's appearance in his dress, his clothes have been flying off the shelves. "It's the gift that doesn't stop giving," he said.
Cooler than president
Ms Obama won't be the only uber-cool person in Obama's entourage. The president's personal aide Reggie Love, who accompanies the president wherever he goes, is in a coolness league of his own. A former member of the Duke university basketball team that won the NCAA championship in 2001, the 29-year old Love is known to have introduced the President to rap artists Jay Z and Lil Wayne, among others. Obama used to listen to his music on a silver iPod nano that Love gifted him for his 46th birthday.
"There's no doubt that Reggie is cooler than I am," Obama told NYT during presidential campaign, adding, "I am living vicariously through Reggie". Love topped a 'White House's Hottest' survey by the Huffington Post, beating Obama's speechwriter Jon Favreau, also 29 years old, and the secondyoungest presidential speechwriter in history. Obama has called Favreau his "mind reader".
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