Michelle's Secret Weapon

The Washington Times / Landov Brooklyn designer Sophie Théallet is one of Mrs. Obama’s new favorites. Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni talks to Théallet (and her good friend Rupert Everett) about her newfound success.

With today’s grim and gray financial climate, it’s a Wild West moment for independent high-fashion designers, and Michelle Obama is still being viewed as striking gold; of the vast shiny nugget variety. Once worn by Mobama, a designer is forever known. So imagine finding out that the first lady had worn your dress by accident—this is exactly what happened last month to the French-born but Brooklyn-based Sophie Théallet. “I was starting a new collection and feeling a little depressed,” the 45-year-old says with her strong Gallic lilt. Fooling around on the Internet, she suddenly saw pictures of Mrs. Obama in her black dress with bright ribbon stripes. The occasion was the unveiling of the bust of abolitionist Sojourner Truth. “I just felt so honored and touched because I have so much respect for that woman,” says Théallet. “She is SMART.”

“Sophie had this jet black hair, white skin, and quivering cleavage,” Rupert Everett says. Plucky with a punk-rock dash, he was “reminded of the French resistance,” the type to “hide tons of Jews under their bed.”

There again, it was smart of Théallet to have used only black models at her Spring-Summer show in September of last year, two months before the election. “I was thinking of color, the late Yves Saint Laurent, and how nothing looks better than color on black skin,” she says. “And although I am not remotely political, I was thinking I love this couple and I hope to god that Obama gets in.”

Michelle Obama discovered Théallet via Ikram, the Chicago boutique. Ikram, of course, is owned by Ikram Goldman who unofficially advises the fashion-forward first lady. But although Théallet’s dress was requested and indeed paid for, the designer gave it little credence. “You never know if Michelle Obama is going to wear your clothes,” she stresses. “In many ways, I think that’s better.” Obama’s endorsement led to new stores contacting Théallet and loads of press. “But what’s most exciting is that I’m now accepted as an American designer, albeit French-born.” And according to Rupert Everett—a former model and fashion insider who dismisses certain talents as “delivering Gap-style clothes spruced up by stylists”—Théallet “is an absolute proper designer who creates breathtaking clothes that are sensationally made.”

Click Image Below to View a Gallery of Michelle’s Fashion

Having been designer Azzedine Alaïa’s right-hand woman for 10 years until 1999—“Azzedine taught her couture tricks that few young designers know,” says Everett—Théallet is no stranger to the high-profile client. She’s dealt with all the supermodels, one of her favorites being Veronica Webb—“a present client and big supporter”—and a certain Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, who she summed up as “polite and elegant.”

Describing her style as “classical with French knowhow and polish,” Théallet’s designs are made in a little factory in New York—“not China,” she says firmly. And although “it has taken a great deal of time and energy,” Theallet’s seamstresses work like Parisian ones (read: flawless pleats, tiers, pin tucks notable for their finish). With two extremely well-reviewed collections behind her, Théallet remains obsessed with cut and fit. “Being a female designer, I know how some women don’t want to show their arms, others want to distract from their knees or like to accentuate their waist.”

Everett met Theallet in the mid-'80s when the then-bisexual actor was having an affair with her best friend Beatrice Dalle, the Betty Blue actress. “Sophie had this jet black hair, white skin, and quivering cleavage,” he says. Plucky with a punk- rock dash, he was “reminded of the French resistance,” the type to “hide tons of Jews under their bed.”