March 23, 2015

Michelle Obama’s Tour Of Asia

Michelle Obama's Five-Day Tour Of Asia

United States First Lady Michelle Obama arrived in Japan last week for a three-day visit, as part of a drive to promote girls’ education around the world, before heading to Cambodia for two days. Wearing a range of designers, she dynamically showed her love of bold colours and prints—and her ability to wear them confidently and effortlessly.

Look 1: Michelle couldn’t have made a better first impression upon arrival at Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport on Wednesday (March 18), waving to onlookers in a citron-yellow Kenzo printed frock that had me at hello. The colour was glorious on her and so, too, was the box-pleated, voluminous skirt. Some might say the statement metallic belt was a bit too much, but I would say it added an artsy edge. I’m glad she chose the directional Japanese label—and that she wore it without a tinge of try-hard.

Look 2: On Thursday (March 19), FLOTUS attended the Japan-U.S. Joint Girls Education Event at the Iikura Guest House in Tokyo. She was radiant in an Altuzarra custom dress coat from the Spring 2015 collection with a burnt-orange, lotus-inspired stencil print; a motif likely selected to pay homage to her Japanese tour.

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Look 3: Donning a Dries Van Noten Spring 2015 coat and shirt, she was at the Kiyomizu-dera temple in Kyoto on Friday (March 20), where she watched a student perform a Noh play. While I have a soft spot for mixed patterns, the pairing of the rich, jewel-toned jacquard coat over the casual micro-stripe shirt detracts just ever so slightly from the impact of the look. That said, her love of vibrant patterns shows no sign of waning on this tour.

Look 4: Later in the day, Michelle arrived at Siem Reap International Airport in Cambodia, where she debuted a multi-coloured Carolina Herrera silk dress emblazoned with an exploded floral print. The relaxed silhouette makes this an ideal travel look while the mint-green hue contrasted by the burgundy blooms makes for a striking colour palette.

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Look 5: On Saturday (March 21), she visited a local high school on the outskirts of Siem Riep, Cambodia, where’s she promoting the education initiative “Let Girls Learn” that was launched to lift barriers that block more than 62 million girls around the world from attending school. Perhaps channeling art class herself, she wore an Alice + Olivia frock that featured abstract, geometric pattern play in bold primary shades. I loved that she pinned her hair back for this trendsetting dress, also exchanging her pumps for a pair of grey sandals.

Look 6: Rounding out her trip, she waved goodbye to Siem Riep in a Roksanda Lansdale dress on Sunday (March 22). No better way to head home from her five-day stint in Asia than with this breezy dress that demonstrated the designer’s signature colour-blocked aesthetic in a standout periwinkle, mint-green, coral and black combo. The less structured, feminine draping of the skirt softened the look to beautiful effect on Michelle.

Colour and print certainly defined the First Lady’s tour wardrobe, but I’d have to say that the Kenzo dress stood out among the rest for its architectural shaping and delightful hue. What was your favourite look?

Credit: Reuters, AP & AFP

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