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Ikram Goldman: The Woman Behind Michelle Obama's Designer Picks

by Nana at February 11, 2009, 11:37 PM

If you've been wondering just who Ikram Goldman is and how she got to hold the position of Michelle Obama's impromptu stylist, the New York Times sheds some light. Goldman, who owns "Ikram," one of the First Lady's favorite boutiques in Chicago, was the go-between between the raft of designers vying to dress Michelle Obama for the Inauguration.

According to the Times, "All details regarding the making of Mrs. Obama's wardrobe for the inaugural were overseen by Ms. Goldman, who kept designers in the dark about whether their outfit would be chosen. ...They worked from measurements and other information provided by Ms. Goldman and delivered the finished garments to Chicago or Washington." In many instances, bills for the dresses Michelle Obama ends up wearing are handled by Goldman too.

The Times piece seems to be kicking up dust about whether one person should hold that much power. Considering that Goldman owns a boutique and carries many of the young and independent designers Michelle Obama has placed a dizzying spotlight on, the piece questions whether her role as "gatekeeper" to the First Lady's closet is a conflict of interest. It's an interesting and valid question, but a little creepy too.

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[photo courtesy of The New York Times]

Is Michelle Obama required to shop at tons of stores? Why can't she shop at her fave hometown boutique like she used to -- even if the tradition has been that First Ladies work directly with designers as Jackie O did with Oleg Cassini and Nancy Reagan did with Bill Blass? She did help her husband win the election with the promise of change.

And do we really need to know that Ikram Goldman, 41, just had twins? Goldman declined to be interviewed for the piece, as did Maria Pinto, the owner of another one of Mrs. Obama's boutiques, and the designer of the memorable red dress Michelle wore on her first White House visit and the green frock she rocked at the Democratic National Convention.

I know it all comes with the First Lady territory, but I wonder if this was a case where there was "no there there" -- aside from a little green-eyed envy. "It is strange to think that the wife of the leader of the free world would choose clothes from only one store, when there is a wealth of clothes out there from other designers, including me," designer Arnold Scaasi was quoted as saying.

"First and foremost, I wear what I love," Obama told Andre Leon Talley in the cover story for Vogue's March Issue -- whether she's mixing young indie labels with high-end designers, or shopping for the piece online, as she told Jay Leno she likes to do. And that's what we love about her.

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