Michelle Obama’s much-anticipated Vogue cover was released Thursday, featuring the first lady in a blue Reed Krakoff dress as was previously reported. The image, shot by celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz and styled by Vogue fashion director Tonne Goodman, marks Obama’s second main stage Vogue appearance. She last fronted the magazine in March 2009.
Leibovitz’s cover imagery is part of a miniature portfolio that appears inside the magazine. It’s there the FLOTUS poses with President Barack Obama in the same Krakoff design, giving her husband a warm embrace in a stately White House room. Another image features the First Lady in a pensive pose, wearing a black Michael Kors sweater and ball skirt. The shoot’s entire wardrobe was reportedly pulled from Obama’s own closet.
An accompanying story, written by Vogue contributor Jonathan Van Meter, serves as a joint profile between the first lady and the president. And while the Obamas go to great lengths to assert their unwavering normalcy throughout the piece, POTUS admits: “Now in fairness, there is one thing that’s changed. Which is, I used to have, like, two suits.” “Now you must have dozens,” Van Meter replied. “Thank God,” the FLOTUS chimed in, continuing “Now let me tell you: This is the man who still boasts about ‘this khaki pair of pants I’ve had since I was 20.’ And I’m like ‘You don’t want to brag about that.” The banter ensues: “Michelle’s like Beyoncé in that song,” said the president. “’Let me upgrade ya!’ She upgraded me.”
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Daughters Malia and Sasha are appreciative of the president's uptick in fashion-forwardness too. Explains Michelle: “The girls and I are always rooting when he wears, like, a stripe. They’re like, ‘Dad! Oh, you look so handsome. Oh, stripes! You go!”
The issue is expected to hit national newsstands on March 26.
