Michelle Obama: Unique Force Reinvigorating the Fashion Industry

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Looks like all of First Lady Michelle Obama's public support for young American designers has, in turn, helped give the fashion industry an economic boost—oftentimes, in direct correlation to the garment she's chosen. "The stock price gains persist days after the outfit is worn and in some cases even trend slightly higher three weeks later," reports the Harvard Business Review. "Some companies that sell clothes that Obama frequently wears, such as Saks, have realized long-term gains."

It's all independent of President Obama's approval ratings and hinges on the fact that the American public seems to trust Michelle Obama's fashion choices, HBR says: "The First Lady’s astonishing 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." Furthermore, HBR claims that Michelle Obama's impact on fashion is unique:

Even fashion icons such as France’s Carla Bruni-Sarkozy do not. Bruni-Sarkozy, like many First Ladies, dresses mainly in one brand: Dior. Obama mixes couture with items anyone can buy at a mall—she famously wore J. Crew gloves while holding the Lincoln Bible at the Inauguration. Consumers flock to the stores, and even if they don’t buy what she wears, they often leave with something else.