{"id":1006,"date":"2016-11-19T12:30:39","date_gmt":"2016-11-19T12:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kt10.khaleejtimes.com\/?p=1006"},"modified":"2016-11-19T12:30:39","modified_gmt":"2016-11-19T12:30:39","slug":"french-designer-refuses-dress-future-first-lady","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kt10.khaleejtimes.ae\/index.php\/2016\/11\/19\/french-designer-refuses-dress-future-first-lady\/","title":{"rendered":"French designer refuses to dress future First Lady"},"content":{"rendered":"

There’s no doubt which side the fashion world supported during the US presidential campaign.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For years, First Lady Michelle Obama and Democrats’ vanquished presidential candidate Hillary Clinton have been favorites with fashion designers who dressed them in clothes aimed at evoking their values.<\/p>\n

But New York-based French designer Sophie Theallet has gone a step further, throwing down the gauntlet by refusing to dress future first lady Melania Trump because of the political views of her husband, President-elect Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

Theallet is urging other designers to follow her lead.<\/p>\n

\n

“As one who celebrates and strives for diversity, individual freedom and respect for all lifestyles, I will not participate in dressing or associating in any way with the next first lady,” she wrote in an open letter published Thursday.<\/p>\n

“The rhetoric of racism, sexism and xenophobia unleashed by her husband’s presidential campaign are incompatible with the shared values we live by.”<\/p>\n

“I am well aware it is not wise to get involved in politics,” Theallet added.<\/p>\n

“That said, as a family-owned company, our bottom line is not just about money.”<\/p>\n

The letter has prompted a flood of reaction on social media, much of it negative.<\/p>\n

Theallet, 52, who has worked in the United States for more than fifteen years, is a regular fixture at New York’s fashion week.<\/p>\n

Her feminine designs have appealed to Michelle Obama, who provided welcome publicity by donning several of her dresses since 2009.<\/p>\n

“She has contributed to having our name recognized and respected worldwide,” Theallet wrote of the current first lady, indicating purpose behind Obama’s fashion choices.<\/p>\n

“Her values, actions and grace have always resonated deeply within me.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There’s no doubt which side the fashion world supported during the US presidential campaign.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1007,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[33,1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kt10.khaleejtimes.ae\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1006"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kt10.khaleejtimes.ae\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kt10.khaleejtimes.ae\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kt10.khaleejtimes.ae\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kt10.khaleejtimes.ae\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1006"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kt10.khaleejtimes.ae\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1006\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kt10.khaleejtimes.ae\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kt10.khaleejtimes.ae\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kt10.khaleejtimes.ae\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kt10.khaleejtimes.ae\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}